


Little Wicked Witch

by fyras14



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F, Mystery, Other, maybe evil akko?of course not! how could you think i would do such a thing!, nasty curses galore, okay maybe a little bad...just a bit!, somethingsomethingcurse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-01-30 14:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12655698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fyras14/pseuds/fyras14
Summary: They say that when witches die, they become part of the earth...they become the flowers, the grass, the trees, the soil. Others say that witches who turn into brooms were the worst of the worst...a horrible combination of wickedness and folly. Atsuko Kagari was such a witch...at least, that’s what the records say.





	1. Cursed Little Witch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 11/8/17: Corrections, corrections.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

**Cursed Little Witch**

**> <**

It was the early 1900s when it happened; it had been a particular humid and long summer but nothing had felt as long and horrible as the day Atsuko Kagari was cursed.

Maybe _cursed_ had not been the words those filthy old hags had used but it sure felt like a curse and not a sentence.

Her crime? As the years went by, Atsuko eventually stopped caring. She still could recalled how those women had yelled at her face the moment they took her to face the music.

She could still remember how they had forced her out of bed, dragging her by the shoulders as they woke her teammates. They didn't let her wake up as they dragged her confused and haggard body towards the Headmistress's office all those years back.  

Back then, Miranda Holbrooke was still a young woman when she stared at her student, ashen faced and furious; the Minotaur guards held her still as the teachers crowded around her, all whispering, some pointing fingers others pointing wands at the still sleepy teenager who was more confused than upset. 

Atsuko could still remember the shock and horror of the accusations. She was still half-asleep when they were shouting and then, she wasn't. 

She had been accused of a crime she did not commit and so was punished ( _cursed!_ ) despite her pleas and begging. 

The records would say, and they would, that one, Atsuko Kagari, masqueraded as a student of Luna Nova in order to get close to the Hanbridge family and murder Arthur Hanbridge, a long-time contributor of the academy and esteemed politician. To make matters worse, they had also accused her of killing the youngest daughter of the Cavendish family head, Fay Cavendish, whom Atsuko had never met. Many presumed the poor teenager had been caught in the middle, perhaps trying to save poor Arthur from the evil witch. 

But no matter what the records say or who wrote them, no one would record how Atsuko cried out for her innocence. No one would write down about her tears and her despair and her anger. 

She was a foreigner, the records said, a foreigner in a foreign land who had come to kill and murder all those that stood in her way of power, or so, the records say. 

Her punishment had not been to burn as so many people had hoped for. She was not to be hanged, she was not to rot in prison...no. Her punishment, as the records would say, was one of the worst of them all. Her punishment, her _curse_ , was to spend the rest of her days as a broom, forever locked in a form that would brand her as a criminal, forever branded as a wicked witch that deserve no mercy, no sympathy. 

She was sealed, the records state, inside the dungeons of Luna Nova, where many others had been sealed in the past. Many hoped that one of the many creatures living inside that maze of rock and concrete would eat her up...and while the records stopped recording, Atsuko still remembered the years. 

She remembered the darkness, the rain, the shadows and her pain. 

She remembered crying out for someone to save her from her misery. To save her from her curse. To save her from eternity. 

But no one came. 

And so, the years passed and the records stopped recording, stopped caring. 

But then, one day, a little witch appeared. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original idea for this was a basic retelling of the show...and then, this happen.
> 
> I blame my imagination for this one.
> 
> This is just the working chapter of course, but for now, this will be it until I find a way to make it work. Enjoy this small teaser for the time being.


	2. A Lesson in Dragons and Curses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...dragons are hard. That didn't sound wrong at all.
> 
> Edit 11/17/17: Corrections. Corrections.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

**A Lesson in Dragons and Curses**

**> <**

They say that it's not the fire that kills you. The real danger is the smoke. Inhale enough and you perish, quickly and painfully as the smoke clears out your lungs and fills them with poison. But if by some luck the smoke doesn't end you, the fire will. 

Dragons were experts of death and fire and Diana Cavendish knew this. 

She had read about them, the dragons. 

They were rare and wild, fierce and feared. Masters of flames and magic. Creatures of wild magic, of death. 

And Diana was getting to experience this so called 'creature of death' as it chased her through halls, breathing fire and misery. She could feel the heat around her; empty halls that had been damp and dry had suddenly turned red and warm. Smoke followed her every move but she knew that if the dragon caught up to her it would be it's flames that killed her first. 

Diana knew that dragon fire, like any other source of magic, had it's own law and will. Smoke was an aftereffect and was hardly a danger to those that dared to play among a dragon's flames. The flames were usually the ones to look out for. Dragons did not use the smoke to kill their victims if they could just burn them to a crisp. Smoke was poisonous and even the smartest of dragons knew to avoid it. It was like too much pepper on a steak, too much salt upon a burnt chicken leg. 

If the dragon caught her now, Diana knew that she would burn like so many others before her. 

She was trapped, running as fast as she could deep into the dungeons of Luna Nova, a dragon at her heels that threatened to burn her and eat her up. 

 

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

Once a year, Luna Nova Academy held a special scavenger hunt where students would compete to hunt down five objects in order to win a prize. 

Whoever finished the scavenger hunt would get extra credit on any subject of their choice, a powerful incentive to get even the laziest of students to participate. 

Before Diana Cavendish was deep in the dungeons and running for her life, she had been out searching for objects to complete the hunt. It wasn't like she needed the extra credit, but Hannah and Barbara, her friends and teammates, disagreed and had gladly pointed out that one could use extra credit in their life. 

And so, here she was, hours before a big bad dragon took form, hunting down objects to complete a list. 

"Alright! We found another one!" 

Minutes before the dragon was released, Diana and her team were almost finished with their list. A seed of water, check, a golden chain, check, a lizard's foot ("...a what now?"), an old hat and finally a golden key, check! 

Hannah and Barbara cheered as they deposited their latest find, the old hat, in one of their satchels and watched as Diana marked off the item in question. 

"Just one more and we'll be done!" Hannah cheered as Diana nodded and Barbara grinned. 

"Indeed...we are just missing the lizard's foot." 

"Like...ew..." Barbara muttered looking over the Cavendish girl's shoulder and making a face at the piece of parchment on her hands. "I can't believe they actually want us to find that thing..." 

"It almost feels like we are back in one of Lukic's classes," Hannah said with a shudder. Diana just smiled, amused as Barbara nodded in agreement. 

"I suppose we should get to it, then," Diana began, walking towards an empty corridor and raising her wand, a small ball of light shinning on its tip. The light just barely lit up the corridor and what wasn't caught in light created shadows that looked like monsters ready to pounce on the unsuspecting witches as they walked past. 

"This place is just too freaking dark..." Hannah muttered for what seemed like the tenth time that day. They followed after Diana who kept her eyes on the front, shinning the light as guidance while her two teammates glanced back and forth and cringed as the shadows seemed to growl back. 

"At least we haven't run into any nasties, though, so that's a plus," Barbara said, glancing at a small shadow that seemed to follow their every move before it disappeared into the darkness. 

"We will be fine so long as we follow the map our professors provided us." 

"Yeah...we know, we know...but...Diana...? Aren't there like...stories about this place housing monsters and whatnot...?" 

In a way, Barbara had a point to be worried, and Diana knew this. 

The dungeons of Luna Nova were rather infamous for their stories. 

Many stories talked about the evil monsters that lived underneath it's walls, it's hidden treasures and cursed objects, and the so-called, 'wicked witches', that roamed the halls and moaned in regret from their crimes. 

From what Diana had researched and read about, the stories about the monsters were mostly true. In the earlier days, when Luna Nova Academy was still young and the Olde Nine Witches had still been alive, many monsters had come to live near the area. Some hid deep underground, causing troubles to the witches that lived above while others inhabited the halls of the academy and caused mischief without restrain. As the years passed, the monsters and witches came into an agreement: the witches would provide them with pure magic and they will work in the school as janitors, cooks and builders. It certainly beat getting turned into durst or slime. Still, many other monsters and spirits choose to live their days away from the academy and some say that a few were still wandering the dungeons waiting for an unfortunate witch to harass. 

The stories about the treasures and cursed objects, on the other hand, was a whole different story. 

Years back, before the Magical Ministry had any power in the region, criminals who practiced the dark arts were sent to these very dungeons as punishment for their crimes. Many of these criminals spend their days trapped inside the halls while others were cursed. Some stories tell of witches that were turned to trees and then burned their ashes placed inside urns, these walls their crypt. Those that were unlucky enough to live, were instead, cursed, forever trapped in forms and bodies that were not their own. This cursed witches would be turned into inanimate objects such as furniture or pens or books. Others were cursed into forms of small animals or insects. But the worst of them all were turned into brooms. 

Perhaps it was wrong to say that turning a wicked witch into a broom was the highest of punishments but it was seen as the worst not because of what it was but for what it represented. 

They use to say that a witch that could not fly straight was no witch at all. 

So long as her team didn't run into any old brooms or urns or anything that seemed to move in the dark, Diana figured they would be fine.

"DAMN IT ALL! WHY WON'T IT OPEN!?" 

Unless of course that happened. 

The girls tried not to jump as they heard the loud scream coming far ahead of them; the voice was one they all recognized.

"...is it that Mia again?" Hannah asked, getting a shrug from Barbara. 

"...could be the wind playing tricks on us..."

But when the voice let out a frustrated growl, they knew it wasn't the wind. 

"Come on, Mia...let's just leave it." 

"Yeah...it ain't on the list...let's just go." 

"NO WAY! It has to be something important! You really want Cavendish to take all the glory again!?" 

Diana tried not to sigh as the voice of Mia Armstrong went on and on on in the background. 

Mia Armstrong was a new student in the academy. She was from a family that made their fortune in the stocks and where magic was still new to them all. Mia had arrived to prove to everyone that magic was easy. 

And Mia had talent to back up her pride. Unfortunately she didn't have any discipline. Mia was too prideful, too forceful, too much of a know-it-all to care for the consequences of her actions. 

Diana, too, remembered a time not too long ago where she thought she knew best but as the Pappiliodya and Professor Chariot de Nurd had taught her, sometimes _assuming_ wasn't the same as _knowing_. The guilt of that day had almost been a welcome change and the punishment a good lesson, but it wouldn't change the fact that the Pappiliodya were gone and that the heiress had only herself to blame for her rash actions. 

She wondered when Mia will learn a lesson of her own. For everyone's sake, she hoped soon, as this 'rivalry' she had developed with Diana was rather tiring. It was troubling the faculty and her own teammates, not to mention Armstrong's own teammates and their classmates whenever Mia decided to compete against the 'pride of Luna Nova'. 

"...it's not on the list, Mia..." Diana could hear the exasperation from Sabrina Potter's voice as her teammates shook their heads behind her. ("Here we go again..." Hannah muttered as her friend shrugged behind her.)

"It has to have something on it!" Mia insisted. "Why else would it have chains all over!?" 

Chains? 

Diana moved quickly now, hoping to reach the arguing group before anything could go wrong and if she knew Mia, something was definitely going to go wrong. 

"So what? Why the hell would you want to know what's inside for!?" Libby Brocks's voice filled the emptiness. Diana could just imagine the ugly expression the younger witch wore, shuddering internally. Miss Brocks made the scariest of faces when she was angry and despite the scare they would give her teammates it appeared that this wasn't enough to discourage Mia, who growled back. 

"IT COULD BE WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR!" 

"Really!? Why would anything in that list be in a freaking coffin!?" 

...no...it couldn't be...

...a coffin...? Oh...no. Oh no!

Diana ran now, making Barbara and Hannah gasp behind her. They followed shortly after, barely managing to keep up. 

"MOVE AND LET'S FIND OUT!" 

"No! Mia, wait!" 

"MISS ARMSTRONG!" Her cry came too late, as the loud cry of "MUROWA!" made the walls tremble and the chains fall apart; seconds later, they will all hear a deep gurgling sound that would soon breath out fire. 

**_> ><<_ **

**_> >><<<_ **

When the dragon appeared, Diana had quickly distracted it with a spell of her own. She attracted its attention enough for the other girls to get away, her last words to them being to get a teacher and to tell the others to evacuate the dungeons as she led the dragon away. 

 

She didn’t know for how long she had been running.

Diana could smell the smoke, could feel her lungs battling against the poisonous fumes that threatened to consume her before the flames ever did. Despite what she had read about dragons and their dislike of their poisonous breath, if their target proved too twitchy, they’ll let their fire become ashes and dust, watching in amusement as their prey struggled to breathe before consuming them in a fiery inferno.

Despite the dungeon’s tight corridors serving as an advantage, Diana knew the battle between walls and fire was lost. Old wood and vines burned and let out smoke, consuming the whole area around the young witch, forcing her to cover her mouth as she ran, sending spell after spell; one of rain, one of pain. None of them did any good. Fire that was doused out, arose again and the dragon had become immune to her spells after the third and fourth, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t angry.

The beast crashed against the walls, shaking the ground as it let out another trail of flames and smoke, forcing Diana to take another turn just to avoid getting burned.

They were heading deeper and deeper into the dungeons now.

By the time any of her teachers reached her, it would be too late. The dragon would have his feast and the heiress of the Cavendish family would be no more.

She only hoped that she could--ACK!

The dragon let out another roar as it bashed itself against the walls, sending dust and rocks after her.

Diana let out a cry as she felt a particularly big piece of concrete hit her on the thigh, sending her down, and making her bite her lip in surprise.

_“OVER HERE!”_

The voice made her look up; the dragon was still a little farther back, too big to fit through the halls.

But this voice...where had it come from?

Was...was it another student!?

But, she was too deep in the dungeon...how could someone else have…?

_“OVER HERE! QUICK! YOU WANNA GET EATEN!?”_

“Wha-what are you doing here!?” Diana cries, as the dragon crashes against the walls again, sending out cries of anger. “Leave! Quickly! Find a teacher and--” Another rock fell and hit the young witch’s back. Diana let out another cry of pain as the dragon roared. Perhaps it was laughing at her misery.

_“LISTEN, YOU!!”_

Another roar.

_“LISTEN! I CAN HELP YOU!”_

Another rock hit Diana in the left side of her head. The heiress groaned and tried to get up. She barely managed to lean against the wall facing the dragon, who began to move slowly towards her. It let out puffs of smoke in satisfaction as it inched closer and closer to it's meal. 

“...ugh...you...you...you need to leave...hurry...get...help…”

_“I AM THE HELP, YOU IDIOT! QUICKLY! RELEASE ME AND I WILL GIVE YOU POWER!”_

...what?

Diana hardly understood what was going on; her body was bruised and in pain, her mind aching and foggy and now, some unknown voice was crying out to…

...what now?

_“CALL MY NAME! RELEASE ME! HURRY!”_

She could already feel the fire and smoke getting closer and closer.

She didn’t have her wand anymore. She had probably lost it when she fell.

_“HOLD ME AND CRY OUT MY NAME!”_

Diana didn’t know what she was doing anymore; she felt something, hard and metal underneath her fingertips, her mind buzzing as she tried to stand up. The young witch could barely make out the sounds of chains in the distance.

 _“...my name...can you say my name, little witch?”_   It was that voice again, soft and gentle and foreign. The accent was there, but just barely.

“..your...your name…?”

Fire and sulfur...closer and closer.

Pain and blood, she could smell them both and yet, the voice whispered her name to Diana’s ears as the dragon opened it's mouth and prepared to release death and fire.

All was slow as the Cavendish heiress let out a scream.

“ATSUKO KAGARI! I RELEASE YOU!”

And after that, Diana knew no more.

**> ><<**

**> >><<<**

When Diana opened her eyes, she felt comfort. 

She was in her room, on her bed, barely remembering the pain and fire, barely putting words on memories she knew nothing about. 

She closed her eyes again. 

Diana felt sore and wanted to rest but she needed to get up. Even as her body protested as she blinked the fatigue away, Diana knew she had to get up. She had classes. Exams, lectures. She had to get ready and--

And then she noticed she couldn't move. 

She felt a strong yet gentle grip around her torso, holding her close. Diana, too, was holding it tight as well. Perhaps it was a pillow. Or perhaps a pile of blankets she had unconsciously moved to hug. Whatever it was, it was certainly comfortable...

...at least, it had felt until finally Diana's eyes adjusted and she stared at the sleeping face of a young girl with brown hair lying with her on her bed. 

 


	3. The Wicked Witch of Luna Nova

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

**The Wicked Witch of Luna Nova**

**> <**

There was a girl in the bed.

Her bed. A girl. In her bed.

There was a girl. A complete stranger was in her bed. A giー

When it finally clicked, that yes, this girl was a stranger and yes, she was definitely sleeping (and cuddling her! _Cuddling_!), Diana reacted in the most normal way possible. She pushed the girl off the bed.

The stranger fell hard on her back, letting out a groan before staring at her attacker.

“Seriously? I haven’t been in a bed in years and this is what I get. I swear, if you weren’t such a beautiful girl I would call you a heartless monster.” Diana just blinked at her as if she was crazy, a blush forming on her face.

“W-what!? Who are you? What are you doing in my room!?”

“I was sleeping...you might have noticed,” the girl replied, yawning. “Don’t tell me you already forgot.”

“Forgot…? What in blazes are you talking about...oh...”

Suddenly, it all came rushing back: the scavenger hunt, Mia releasing the dragon, the dragon chasing Diana and then, a voice...a voice that sounded so much like…

The young witch stares at the girl on the ground who stares back, a drowsy look in her face.

The girl is wearing the uniform of Luna Nova, except it looks worn, old, as if the weather had had it's way with the cotton and threads. Most of the ends of the long sleeves are ripped, and the red sash on her waist is discolored and ripped as if it had been bitten and dragged by dogs. And she looks about Diana’s age, except she appears younger, paler, long, brown hair and red eyes.

This girl is not a student of Luna Nova.

And yet, she wears it's uniform but Diana cannot recognize her. She has never seen this girl around campus. But the voice. The young witch recognizes that voice now.

“...You...you are the owner of that voice that spoke to me in the dungeons...are you not?”

And the girl smiles, winks at Diana and then says, “Atsuko Kagari...at your service.”

**> ><<**

**> >><<<**

Diana didn’t know whether to just groan or panic. She opted for the internal panicking as she watched Atsuko Kagari sit on the floor.

She could not believe her luck...or rather, poor luck.

If Atsuko had been that voice and if she had been at the dungeons then that must mean...oh.

The girl was staring at her, looking amused at the silence before she stretched and asked, “Are you done gawking? Can I go back to bed now?” Diana blinked before glaring.

“You will do no such thing!”

“Aww...why not?”

Diana ignored the innocent question to ask one of much more importance.

“You are the voice...the one I...the one I released, correct?”

“Yep! That was me!” Atsuko was smiling now, but Diana’s internal panic just grew.

If Atsuko was in the dungeons then that meant that she was...a criminal. A wicked witch. One who had been punished for her crimes and sent to the dungeons to live out her punishment for all eternity and Diana had just released her. The heiress of the Cavendish house had just released a criminal to the world.

This was just great. No, really.

No wait, she could fix it. She could fix this.

All she needed to do was to get the proper authorities. Yes. She would ask for the Headmistress and the teachers and they would take care of this nasty little girl.

And Diana proceeded to do just that. She got out of bed, not caring she was still wearing her night clothes, and walked as quickly as she could to the exit.

“Whoa! Hey! Where are you going?” Atsuko asked, looking confused and innocent.

“...to see the Headmistress,” Diana said, reaching for the doorknob; she finally noticed Hannah and Barbara weren’t in their beds and that the sun was shining outside. Where the morning classes coming to an end?

“...you’re going to see the Headmistress?” the other witch repeated, confused.

Diana just nodded but knew she needed to hurry. If the wicked one realized her intentions she might not have a chance.

And then, Atsuko began to laugh.

“Hehehe! HA! You’re going to tell on me, little girl?”

The heiress turned to stare at Atsuko. She was leaning against her bookcase, barely making a sound. This witch was a quick one.

Diana wasn’t intimidated, however, and glared back at the grinning witch.

“You are a criminal. You were sealed in the dungeons for a reason, and so, it is my duty as a Cavendish to put you back in your place.”

“...fine.”  Wait...what?

“Eh?”

“I said, fine,” Atsuko repeated. “Do tell her. I’m not afraid of an old witch. Why don’t you tell the whole school about it, too?” The girl grinned. “Why don’t you tell them how you released a criminal from her chains in order to get power? Hmm...I wonder how that will turn out...don’t you?”  For a second, Diana is confused and then, it clicks.

Sure, there was a dragon and she was not thinking straight when she released Kagari, but now that Atsuko put it like that, Diana didn’t know what to think.

“I mean...you are a Cavendish, right?” Atsuko went on, shrugging. “I just wonder what everyone else will think.”

“...”

“A Cavendish releasing a criminal? Hmm...I wonder...what would people think? What will your family think…? What will your teachers?” What would they think, indeed. Diana didn’t know. She didn’t want to know.

As a Cavendish, reputation was an important. Reputation could make or break you, especially in the world of magic.

Her family had been struggling since her mother’s death and even with the New Age of Magic ten years in the making, the struggles were still there. And if this were to get out, it could affect her family as a whole.

Her teachers and classmates might see Atsuko’s release as a necessary evil, but the people outside would not. Other families would talk behind her back, a few others will even ask for her arrest. And if Diana were arrested, the Cavendish family would be truly ruined.

But Diana Cavendish knows letting Atsuko free would be the worse crime. If her power could defeat a dragon, then what’s to stop her from destroying the school?

“...still, if you want to go and tell that old hag...be my guest.”

“Huh?”

“I said, do it. I’m not going anywhere.” And with that, Atsuko Kagari walked behind the bookcase and disappeared.

Diana just stood near the door, baffled.

Was this a trick? Was she trying to get the other witch to lower her guard and attack?

The heiress could still feel her sore muscles and she doubted she would be much of a challenge to a much more powerful, and dangerous witch.

Still, the way Atsuko just didn’t care, made Diana curious.

Sure, a part of Diana should have just ignored the other witch and walked straight towards the Headmistress’s office but the other was curious and wondering if this was a trap. Maybe she didn’t care about Diana calling the other teachers because she knew she could take them all. Or maybe, the answer was much more simpler and Diana was cursing her curiosity.

Knowing she was going to regret this later, Diana Cavendish made her way back to her side of the room.

She found Atsuko once more on top of her bed, her eyes closed, hands behind her head. It seemed she was about to take a nap.

“...what are you planning?” Diana asked, putting some distance between her bed and herself as Atsuko let out a groan of irritation.

“...I plan on sleeping, but I get the slight suspicion that it’s not happening anytime soon.” The other witch opened an eye and stared at Diana. “What do you want? Were you not going to get a teacher?”

“...I was. But...I do not know whether I should…”

Atsuko opened her other eye and gave her a pout. “You actually think they will be in any danger? Please. A wild fox is more dangerous than I will ever be.”

“I sincerely doubt that.” Diana didn’t mention the dragon and how she had apparently defeated the thing.

Atsuko closed her eyes again before continuing.

“You released me...but not entirely...the spell that bound me to my cursed form is still very active...so, if the old hag sees me, she uses a sealing spell and back to the dungeons I go.”

Diana blinked at her explanation before shyly asking, “What do you mean?”

“It means that if you say my name again, you can turn me back into my cursed formー”

“ATSUKO KAGARI! SEAL!”

Before Atsuko gets to finish her sentence, she is engulfed by a puff of black smoke. The smoke surrounded the witch and most of Diana’s bed and the heiress can see a form struggling inside. She can hear chains and curses and finally, the smoke disappears and in it’s place is a broom.

The broom looked exactly like her broom, but it the wooden stick was older, the wood breaking apart in places. It’s straw head, too, was unusual to look at, for one thing, the straw looked more like brown hair held together by a red sash, like the one Atsuko wore at her waist. Rotten chains hung around near the straw head and near the metal handle, that like the chains, had rusted with time.

And now, Diana was really panicking.

A broom.

Of all the things Atsuko Kagari could have turned into, it had to be a broom. One of the worst punishments ever inflicted upon evil witches was turning them into a broom.

And Diana had just released this one.

Oh, by the Nine! What was Diana going to do!?

As if to answer her question, the broom let out a small huff, before a puff of black smoke engulfed it again, and Atsuko Kagari was there once more, sending an annoyed look Diana’s way.

“Why did you do that?”

“...umm...I...I…” The other witch sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Look, if you had just let me finish I would have told you that the curse may still bind me to my cursed form, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to return back to human form when I fancy.” Atsuko shrugged. “You’ll need a stronger witch for that...and before you think you can manage that, let me remind you that it was my power that saved your life.”

Diana really wanted to forget about that small detail.

“...I...I see...so…a stronger witch would need to reinforce the seal…”

“Stronger, competent, doesn't matter.” Atsuko closed her eyes once more before continuing. “But if you’re feeling particularly callous, you can just set me on fire and be done with it.”

“...wh-what…?”  

Diana didn’t know what to think about that last one.

Was Atsuko suggesting that...that Diana could just kill her and be done with herーNo.

Diana Cavendish was no killer. It didn’t matter what Atsuko had done. Diana was not going to kill her. She wasn’t that heartless...but, if she were to get out of hand, she might not have a choice.

The heiress shook her head.

No, she was not going to think about that.

“...what...what do you mean by ‘set you on fire’? I am afraid I do not understand…”

Atsuko let out a breath and opened her left eye to stare at the other girl before saying, “This was a very potent one...I burn easily...like a broom...like wood.” She extended a hand towards Diana. “Here, feel this…? Wood, not bone.” Diana didn’t move. The other witch shrugged and put her hand back underneath her head. “Whatever that curse did to me all those years back, it has made me just as wooden as the broom I turn into. You can just imagine my concern when I find out a dragon was wandering around in the dungeons .”

“...I see.” Diana sighed. Of course. The dragon.

It made sense in a weird way.

Atsuko had only saved her because the dragon’s flames would have consumed her.

“...you were afraid of the dragon and used me to get rid of it.”

The cursed witch just shrugged again.

“And if I did, what of it? You’re still here, are you not? You should try being a little bit more grateful.”

“...how can I be grateful of releasing you?”

“You’re alive, aren’t you?”

Diana shook her head. “But you are here...a criminal...for all I know, you are planning some terrible deed.”

“Believe what you want…” Atsuko closed her eye and let out a breath. “I mean, if you really want me to behave you can do something for me.”

“I would rather not.”

Atsuko opened her eyes and smiled. “You don’t even know what I’m going to ask!”

“Whatever it is, what makes you think I will do anything for you?”

“Because you’re here talking to me,” the girl pointed out. “Had you left when you said you would, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Diana knew that the other witch had a point.

Why didn’t she leave?

She could have left, marched straight to the Headmistress Holbrooke’s office and tell her about Atsuko Kagari and the unfortunate events that lead to her release. But even then, Diana wasn’t exactly privy to the events either.

She didn’t even know what had happened when Atsuko’s voice whispered to her ear, much less what had actually happened to the dragon except of it's demise.

And if Atsuko’s magic could take a dragon... ? What if this was all a trap? What if…

Diana shook her head.

There were so many things going wrong today.

If she told the teachers about Atsuko a lot of things could happen.

Her family’s name could be ruined. Her teachers would be disappointed. Her classmates would hate her.

Many things could happen and none of them good.

And so, Diana Cavendish figured that so long as she kept the cursed witch in check nothing bad would happen. At least, until Diana figured what to do what to do with her.

“Alright.”

“Yay!” Atsuko cheered, sitting up on Diana’s bed faster than the latter could blink. “Now, we’re talking! Now...let’s see, let’s see...what do I want…? Oh! Does the school still make those...oh, what were they called again? Was it pies? No...what was it…?”

“...you mean tarts?”

“Yeah! Those things! Those were sooooo goooood...especially the cherry flavored ones!”

Diana didn’t know what was happening now; one minute this girl was somber and annoyed and the next, she was too excitable, smiling brightly at the prospect of a snack.

 _Well...she_ **_is_ ** _wearing the school’s uniform..._ Diana thought as Atsuko spoke animatedly on and on about this tart she tried on her first days in the school, indirectly confirming Diana’s earlier thoughts.

So, this girl had been a student of Luna Nova and she had done something so unforgivable that she had been turned into a broom and imprisoned for eternity.

“Atsuko…” Diana called. The other witch stopped her rambling and turned towards Diana with a charming smile.

“Ah, why don’t you call me Akko? ‘Atsuko’ is just a little too formal for my tastes.”

“Atsuko is fine.” Diana cleared her throat. “...so...you want a tart?”

“A tart!?” Atsuko cried out. “A tart!? Not just a tart! Many of them!”

“...many…?”

“Of course! Do you know how hungry one gets during eternity!? A lot!”

“You do understand that I cannot simply ask for ‘many’ of them, do you?”

“Ah! Boo! You’re the hero of the school! They should give you lots of snacks!”

If Diana had been dealing with everyone but this particular witch, she would have laughed.

“Whatever the case...I cannot just simply take what I want.” Atsuko pouted again.

“Aw...but I’m hungry!”

Diana let out an exasperated sigh.

A quick glance to her clock told Diana that it was currently ten o’clock. Morning classes were still in session.

“...Lunch will be in two hours...will that be acceptable…?” If feeding her was all it would take to keep from her from causing trouble, then so be it.

“Oh...and one other thing…”

“...are you going to ask for more food? Because I have already told you thatー”

“No! No! Not that!” Atsuko was smiling now. “I was wondering if we could keep on sharing the beー”

“Absolutely not.”

“Aw...but it's comfy!”

Diana glared. “No.”

If either Hannah or Barbara found Atsuko sleeping in her bed it would be disastrous and...wait a minute.

“...Atsuko, a question.”

“Huh?”

“How did you...how did you manage to get inside my room…?”

“Through the door.”

“...how…?”

Atsuko sent her a grin and then, in a puff of smoke her body was gone and in it's place was a small, brown mouse with large red eyes.

“Just because I was a broom for years doesn’t mean I don’t have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite the wicked one, huh?


	4. The Broom in the Dungeons

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

**The Broom in the Dungeons**

**> <**

The trial had been swift and just, the records would say. Swift in execution and just in their judgement, while the heads of the affected watched, unfeeling and without mercy, at the cowering foreign witch who had started it all.

Atsuko could still remember their cold eyes, and their silent judgement. She remembered the tears of a few, and the glares of many. She could even remember her own tears and pleas and how they had fallen on deaf ears as the trial had gone on and on.

They had evidence, the records would say, evidence and motive (probably). Servants had caught her in the act, the records would write. They had painted a horrible picture: Atsuko Kagari had come to kill Arthur Hanbridge and Fay Cavendish had tried to help the man. She was struck down first. Arthur came second, but she had been caught. She had fled the scene and days later, she had been dragged to court for her crimes.

She had been given one of the worst punishments, despite the calls for her execution.

No. She would be made to suffer in eternity for her crimes as a broom, forever hidden under the school she once attended, forever stuck in a form that wasn't hers.

That had been her punishment, her curse.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

The first day of her imprisonment was nothing short of frightening.

Atsuko had never forgotten the day; she could still remember being dragged by a minotaur, with a pair of witches behind him, chuckling at her tears and sniffles. She had been led to the deepest parts of the dungeons, out of sight, out of mind.

She can still remember tripping over the chains around her feet, remembered how the minotaur had manhandled her so roughly, he had twisted her arm in the process. The witches had only cackled at her misery, even pointing out that she “wouldn’t feel her arm for much longer”. The minotaur had just snorted with laughter at her misery.

“It would be so easy to just...burn you…” the spirit had muttered, showing sharp teeth as Atsuko had tripped yet again and he had, again, pulled her up as hard as he could. “...so...so easy…” Poor Atsuko had just let out a wail of despair as they went on walking.

When they finally arrived at the place where she would be forever entombed, the minotaur had thrown her to the floor, and watched, amused, as Atsuko cowered, her back against the moss-covered walls, trying in vain to disappear into it. Atsuko still remembered the rabid fear that had taken hold of her as the witches began their incantation.

She remembered clutching her ears, crying out, wondering if she didn’t hear the voices they would disappear. But they didn’t.

Atsuko couldn’t really remember what happened after that. One moment she had been crying her head off and the next, she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t whimper. She didn’t remember seeing the minotaur and the two ugly witches leave, nor did she remember seeing anyone afterwards.

The only things she could remember were the darkness and the feeling of stillness, of stiffness.

She didn’t know how long she had spent there, chained to the walls, wailing and crying inside her head for a release that would never come.

She wanted her mother, she wanted her father, her cousins and neighbors. She remember wishing she had never heard of Luna Nova, wished she had never been fascinated by that performer outside her family’s farm, wished that she could just go home.

Atsuko couldn’t quite remember when all her wishing became rage and anger.

Her screams had filled the dungeons, her rage had consumed her very being but there was no release, only pent-up anger that had threatened to consume her. And Atsuko was not ashamed to say that she wished the rage had consumed her back then, but like her tears and wishes, they burned out and disappeared into the nothingness that was her misery.

And she slept.

Atsuko didn’t know for how long she had slept. She dreamt of her farm, of her mother and father, of her uncles and cousins, of her aunts and her friends. Perhaps if she slept long enough, she could meet her end...she would die...she would be free…

But it never did.

When Atsuko woke up, she was still a broom, still in chains, and still cursed.

Anger had taken hold then; she remembered shaking, growling, and if she could, spitting, as well. She remembered the shaking of the walls, the wails of the chains as they struggled against their prisoner... _crack, crack...snap!_ Atsuko remembered falling, falling hard, wood against cement, water and wood, chains splashing upon a small puddle that had formed underneath her wooden form.

Her anger disappeared as soon as she felt the water; she remembered feeling again, she could see again, she could feel!

Feelings and sensations returned slowly, slowly but surely, and Atsuko remembered crying.

The chains, Atsuko would learn later on, had been magical in nature, a last prison to keep her in place and miserable. But now, they had rusted while Atsuko slept, rusted until they could no longer contained their wicked prisoner.

After that, it was only a matter of learning how to move as a broom.

She had remembered hopping about in place, the chains trailing after her, as she explored her new surroundings. She had found old rooms, many housing books and spirits, others housing monsters and bones, and a few housing other brooms like her, broken beyond repair and lost in their own misery.

Atsuko didn’t know how long she had been exploring, but eventually, she settled herself upon a small room, one full of dusty books and old chairs and desks. A chalkboard stood abandoned by the side, many old formulas and text erased from its black surface. It reminded her of a smaller classroom, papers sticking to the walls, planks of wood covered what must have been it's windows at some point in time. Broken glass and ripped papers littered the floor but Atsuko didn’t mind. The room was far away from the others that she could avoid the monsters and spirits and the other brooms and their cries of despair.

The room had become her new home.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

Atsuko didn’t remember how long it took her to get a book opened.

She remembered bouncing around, annoyed (angry). She remembered trying many things, from creating a gust of wind with her head of straw (and falling constantly as a result) to using the chains as makeshift hands. She remembered the sea of books littering the floor after trying that last one. But still, she didn’t give up. She kept on trying and trying until, the chains began to listen, began to move.

She remembered grabbing her first book, _“A Guide to Metamorphosis”_ , could still remember her glee as she returned it to the desk, opened it and began to read.

She read about the basics of metamorphosis magic, it's many drawbacks and advantages and it's disadvantages and the many recorded creatures a witch could turn into and what to avoid. She read about philosophy. She read about history (at least, about witches in this part of the world). She read about the many languages that existed in the magical world and she read about familiars and about spirits and about monsters.

Eventually, the books ran out, and Atsuko began to read them all again, no matter how difficult, no matter how dull, she read and read until one day, after reading _“A Guide to Metamorphosis”_ for what seemed the hundredth time, Atsuko wondered if she could do magic again.

She still remembered how terrible she was at it; still remembered the ridicule, and the annoyance of those old hags when she failed the light spell for the uptenth time that day.

The only thing they did praise her on, however, was her immense magical ability but without skill and guidance (and patience, oh so much patience), Atsuko had not been able to bloom like her classmates and her spells had failed over and over again.

After a few days (or weeks, Atsuko had stopped counting long ago) of mulling it over, Atsuko began to practice metamorphosis magic.

Her first attempts were...lackluster.

Despite the book’s insistence on beginners to use their wands, Atsuko had never found one inside her dusty new home nor in the rooms around it, and so, had opted to try without one, in spite of the book’s warnings that it would only result in failure without.

What followed was the mostly frustrating shouts of “Metamorphie Faciesse!” over and over and over again, Atsuko had begun to grow discouraged. Days later, she stopped to sulk and then, started anew.

For days, months, maybe even years, Atsuko practiced and practiced until one day, a pair of rabbit ears puffed near where her ears had been. Atsuko had been ecstatic, crying out with uncontrolled joy. She remembered hopping about, knocking over desks and chairs, breaking a few, but she hadn’t cared. She had done magic! She had done it! Sure, she had messed up, but she had done it! If she could get rabbit ears, she could do so much more!

And so, she practiced and practiced; she remember getting tails, bigger ears, even hands ( _hands! Hands!!_ ) but she never could quite master it.

In the end, after many failures and many extra appendages, Atsuko Kagari turned herself into a mouse.

She still remembered feeling weird. She had a body again! She had little hands and little feet and a little tail! And fur! And many other things she dared not think about too much. She remembered the disappointed when she puffed back into a broom but it was enough to get her determined enough to master the spell, and after hours (and days, probably), Atsuko managed to maintain her form for far longer than she had anticipated.

And that’s when her real adventure began.

* * *

With another puff of smoke, Atsuko Kagari returned to her natural form and tried not to grin at the expression on Diana’s face.

“...you…can...transform?”

“Yep! Been doing it for years!” Probably, but Diana didn’t need to know that. “Right after you released me and I lent you a little bit of my power, and well, you Murowa that dragon into oblivion, I had to get out somehow without drawing suspicion. I turned into a mouse and hid on your hair while we waited for your teachers to come and get you.”

Diana slowly nodded as she took the information in, before passing a hand over her hair, causing Atsuko to pout.

“Oi! What’s that for!?”

The other witch flinched and then muttered something along the lines of, “I need a shower,” before disappearing to the other side of the bookcase. Atsuko heard a door opening and closing and seconds later, water running. Atsuko glared at no one in particular and seconds later, began to sniff at her clothes.

“...okay, maybe I do need a bath too...but first,” Atsuko glanced at the nearby table, and noticed the girl’s wand. She grabbed it and examined it for a while before she pointed it at herself and murmured a few words.

Seconds later, an exact replica of Diana Cavendish appeared; she wore the school’s official uniform, and a red sash tied around her waist. She let out an amused smile and then, put her wand in the sash and walked slowly, but surely towards the door.

“Time for a visit to the library,” ‘Diana’ whispered, as she opened and closed the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of background on the beginning...and then, surprise! Akko's back at it again! 
> 
> Don't worry, students are still suppose to be in classes after all, so she's gonna be fine...probably.


	5. Good Old Days Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a while for this one to come out. Sorry about that. 
> 
> Anyway, somethings happen...a few people are met and well, life is just difficult in general for Atsuko and Diana.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

**Good Old Days Gone**

**> <**

Luna Nova was still the same after all this years; Atsuko didn’t know whether to be surprised or concerned. 

She knew she had been sealed inside the dungeons for quite some time but for how long? How much had the world changed? Were her parents still alive? Her cousins? Her aunts and uncles? Her neighbors? Her...friends?

Atsuko had stopped asking those questions a long time ago. Back then, she had screamed and begged and cried. She had cried for her mother and father to take her back home and then as time went by, she just stopped. 

She stopped thinking about the painful things to focus on learning, on surviving, on living. 

Magic had been her world for who-knows how long and it was the only thing that kept her sane, calm, neutral. And, despite the fact she was itching to enchant the floor and turn it into ice, Atsuko controlled herself. She had made a deal with Diana Cavendish after all. 

She will be on her best behavior, for now. 

Or at least until she found the information she was looking for. 

“Oi! Miss Cavendish!” 

Atsuko froze; her body was frigid, her pulse racing...then, she let out a deep breath. She almost forgot she was Diana for a moment. 

She turned and stared at the woman coming her way. 

Atsuko didn’t recognize her. 

The older woman wore the official teacher’s robes, dark blue, long, with some added modifications. Atsuko noticed the brown gloves and sash, with the sash holding a small bag with an assortment of tools attached to it. She also noticed, with some amusement, the weird-looking contraption on top of her short lilac colored hair and tried very hard not to let out a snort. Whatever that was, it looked ridiculous. 

“Ma’am,” Atsuko, or rather, 'Diana' replied, nodding. 

The woman gave her a cheery smile and nodded. 

“I see you are up and about! What a surprise!” the woman said. “Nurse Matilda mentioned that you would be down for the count for a few days, but look at you!” She frowned. “Aren’t you suppose to be in bed?” 

Atsuko mentally groaned. Oh boy, this was not good! She completely forgot about that! 

Diana, well, at least the real one, had been excused from classes because of the mess with the dragon two days back. 

Right after Diana had been found and sent to the infirmary, Atsuko had hidden in the shadows, watching and listening. The nurse, Matilda, mentioned that Diana would be sore for a few days and that she needed plenty of rest and such. The ‘hero’ stayed in bed the first day, and the second, she was moved to her room to rest more comfortably. 

(And the nurse was right. Diana was soft and comfy...although, that last part was probably not what the nurse meant.) 

“...I...I was just going to get something to read...that is...all,” Atsuko began, trying to sound calm. The woman cocked an eyebrow at her. 

“Really? Books in your personal collection too boring for you?” The disguised girl opened her mouth to retort, but the stranger beat her to it. “Nah, it's fine. You seem alright to me...and besides, a little walking didn’t hurt anyone.” 

“...I am just…a bit sore...that’s all,” Atsuko lied, trying to look shy and nervous; the older woman chuckled in understanding and patted her shoulder. 

“Hey! Don’t sweat it, kiddo! When Chariot and I were your age we had our moments, too! Your professor keeps telling me to take it easy once in a while, but eh, I try to use time as best as I can, don’t you agree?”

Atsuko nodded.

So, this ‘Chariot’ was one of the teachers? Along with this one?

Atsuko didn’t recognize the name, either.

That...that was not good.

“Well then, I suppose I should leave you, eh?” the woman nodded again and patted her shoulder one more time before she turned and walked back where she came from. Atsuko took a deep breath and began walking towards where she knew the library was located before the professor said, “Oh, and Cavendish, a small warning. Matilda told your teachers, me included, to kick you out of class if they saw you on Monday morning...so, just a heads up. Hope you get well soon...the test will be next month, just for you!” And with that, the woman went on her merry way, whistling all the while.

Atsuko just stood there, watching her go until the strange woman disappeared around the corner. The cursed witch shrugged and went on her way, muttering, “...well, that happened.”

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

After avoiding a few spirits that patrolled the halls, Atsuko finally managed to make it to the library. 

It looked the same. 

The books seemed new, the desks were polished and cleaned, the rows and rows of bookshelves danced around the place like a maze of knowledge waiting to be found. 

Atsuko almost felt strange walking inside; she had avoided the library like a plague on her first day after meeting the librarian. Scary woman that one. She was tall, fierce and muscular. And had a temper to boot...and a dislike for foreigners, or maybe just for Atsuko Kagari. 

Okay, so maybe Atsuko had accidently tripped and knocked a few (a lot) of the bookshelves, but! She had cleaned it all up, hadn’t she!? 

Atsuko let out a sigh and smiled. 

The memory seemed so distant now. So lost among the other memories that made Atsuko’s heart clench and her eyes water. 

The cursed witch let out another sigh and approached the front desk, hoping to see the old, muscular woman on it; she wasn’t there. 

The woman who greeted her was young and thin, wearing glasses and sporting red hair. She smiled as she noticed Atsuko, or rather, Diana Cavendish’s form. 

“Ah! Good day, Miss Cavendish! Up and about, I see.” 

Atsuko just nodded. She was too disappointed to say anything else. 

“It’s rather surprising to see you, though...Matilda was saying that you’ll be staying in bed for a while,” the librarian went on, causing Atsuko to flinch slightly before she said,

“...Well..it’s just...I came for some...light reading…?” 

“Light reading? But didn’t you take a few books with you last week?” 

“I did?” Atsuko, then, realizing what she just said, nervously looked to the side, avoiding the librarian’s concerned gaze. 

“Did you forget, my dear? Oh! That hit on the head must have done quite a number on you!” 

Atsuko furrowed her eyebrows before she whispered, “I am just...sore...that’s all.” 

“Sore? I suppose that’s fair. But still,” the librarian looked at her. “Wouldn’t it be better for you to stay in bed, dear? You have the week off...or so Matilda told me.” 

“I won’t be long,” Atsuko assured her, smiling.  _ Just enough to get the information I want...then, it’s back to the real Diana’s room.  _ “It will just be...a minute.” The librarian seemed to consider it, and nodded. 

“Alright, then. But, if you are not feeling well, do let the patrolling faires know, alright?” the older woman pointed a finger towards a few small fairies with wings and small little hats on their heads that were floating about. Atsuko didn’t remember ever seeing any of this little beings before, but she made a mental note to avoid them. 

Atsuko nodded, and smiled, before she went on her way, carefully maneuvering around the bookshelves to avoid eye contact with the fairies and their adorable little hats. 

She walked up to a shelf and began reading the titles: _“Mythical Beasts and Where to Hunt Them”,_ _“Because of Magic”_ , _“The Sorcerer's Stone and Other Facts”_ , _“Potions and Basics: How Not To Brew”_ ,   _“A Witch’s Guide to European Magic”_ , etc., etc. 

Atsuko frowned. 

Most of these books were not even about current events. 

She moved to the next shelf. This shelf was all white magic and magical law. 

Atsuko almost grabbed a book about Magical Laws but stopped herself and went to the next shelf; magic and food; in another, creatures and critters; potions and poisons; white and black magic, and the list went on and on. 

The cursed witch let out a frustrated sigh as she passed another bookshelf containing the magic linguistics books. 

She tried another bookshelf, this time picking a few of the ones located on the very back of the room, away from prying eyes and floating fairies. The disguised girl passed a delicate finger over the spines, reading the titles one by one, quickly discarding them in her mind as she went one after the other and then, she found one. 

Atsuko removed the book from it's resting place and looked at the cover, _ “Magic in the Modern World: 21st Century Edition Volume One” _ . The witch glared at the book for a few seconds, before opening it. She immediately found what was looking for just ten pages in. 

Her Professor of Magical History had called it a ‘timeline’,  an image or rather, a line, showing the natural passage of time, listing important dates and discoveries or just plain random facts that happened as the years would go on and on. 

Atsuko stared at the thing; she shakily raised a finger and passed over it, the year 1900 passed quickly, and as her finger passed, the more time went on, until the line finally ended on the year, 2010. She let out a weak breath and stared. She stared as hard as she could, as much as she dared, feeling the wood under her skin crack and move as she clenched her fist. 

“...a hundred years...huh...time sure does fly.” 

Atsuko dropped the book and walked away. 

* * *

While Atsuko made her way to the library, the real Diana Cavendish let out a breath as she let the water wash over her.

Diana had believed that the worst thing she had done had come to pass but no, destroying the Pappiliodya was a terrible thing true, but even that couldn’t really compare to what she had just done. 

She let out another breath as the cold water hit her sore body; her body was stiff and she wanted to go back to bed, but she knew she’ll need some time alone to think things through.

What was Diana going to do? 

Research would be a good start, she decided, grabbing the shampoo and washing her hair. She needed information, facts, dates, anything, really, to figure out just who was Atsuko Kagari.

The best place to start would be the library. If Atsuko was a student, as her clothes suggested, then there was a chance her picture was in the school yearbook. She could also look into old school records, news articles, and even, ugh, the internet. 

But what if she couldn’t find anything? What if Atsuko Kagari had been erased from history for what she had done? 

A small prickle of fear washed over Diana as she grabbed a sponge. 

Despite Atsuko’s attitude a few minutes ago, Diana knew not to let her guard down. Sure, Atsuko was willing to ‘play ball’ as it were with Diana, but nothing assured the witch that the cursed one would keep her end of the bargain. 

How long until she got bored and started mischief? Disaster?  

Diana didn’t want to think about that as she let the water wash all the shampoo and her worries. 

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

When Diana got out of the shower, a bathrobe over her sore body, she came face to face with another Diana. 

She wore the same uniform, and her eyes were blue not red, but on her waist was a red sash, not a blue one. This other Diana was sitting on the couch, a book on her hands, and a frown on her face. 

“...A-Atsuko…?” the real Diana asked, catching the other Diana’s attention. 

The doppelganger stared at her, and then, with a puff of smoke, Atsuko was there. 

“...At your service,” she replied without enthusiasm as she turned her attention back to the book in her hands. 

Diana just stood there and then, asked, “...why?” 

“...what?” 

“...why are you masquerading as me?” 

“...because I can.” 

“That does not mean you should,” Diana told her, sighing. “...did you leave the room?” 

“...sure. I went to get some light reading,” Atsuko showed Diana the cover of the book in her hands,  _ “Old and New Magic” _ . Diana recognized the book. She had read it dozens of times to pass time. A book about old spells and how they evolved with the times...oh. 

“...did...did you find what you’re looking for?” 

Atsuko closed the book and let it fall on the couch next to her, as she let out a big sigh. 

“...what I was looking for? Yeah...what I wanted…? Not in the slightest.” And before Diana could ask anything more, Atsuko stood up and marched towards Diana’s side of the room. 


	6. Cat’s Ears and Tail Spells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay! Run into some writer's block. But here is it. If nothing else, this is an early Christmas present...unless I decide otherwise and write another chapter just for you guys.
> 
> Edit: Changed a few things in the chapter...nothing mayor just a few things. 1/2/18.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

**Cat’s Ears and Tail Spells**

**> <**

Hannha and Barbara were not happy to see Diana up and about when they came to check on her by lunch.

“You should be resting!” they said, quickly ushering Diana to her bed. Hannah put a tray of food nearby; a chicken sandwich split in two, a salad, some fruit and a cup of tea by the side. No tarts, though, much to Diana’s strange disappointment. So much for making Atsuko feel bett--wait, what was Diana thinking!?

Atsuko Kagari was a criminal...and yet, when Atsuko had come to her room after finding out how long she had spent in the dungeons, she had just walked to Diana’s side of the room, sighed and then, fell on the bed without another word. There were no tears, no anger, no nothing. Atsuko was just there, not doing anything and despite Diana’s earlier misgivings and fear, just seeing Atsuko like that broke her heart. And Diana didn’t even know why. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this...she wasn’t even sure on why she had tried to start a conversation with the cursed witch before her teammates arrived with their concern and lunch.

The cursed witch had just turned herself into a mouse just as they opened the door and disappeared under the bed and that had been the end of that. But a part of Diana wasn’t, well, she couldn’t quite describe it, but a small part of Diana wanted to talk to Atsuko, wanted to know if...if she was okay.

“Hey...hey, Diana?”

Diana shook out of her thoughts as Barbara stood nearby, watching her with concern.

“You okay? You were spacing out for a minute there,” Hannah told her. Diana tried not to flinch. She couldn’t believe she had been thinking about Atsuko all this time.

“I am fine...just...thinking…”

“I bet you were...it’s been two days, after all…” Hannah smiled softly. “You really scared us Diana…”

“...my apologies.”

“Aw, don’t worry about it!” Hannah said, her soft smile still present on her face as Barbara filled their cups of tea. “We’re just glad you’re alright.”

“Yeah…”

As the hour passed, Hannah and Barbara filled Diana in on all that had happened after she destroyed the dragon; they told her about how Mia and her teammates had been punished for its release (“Not that Sabrina and Libby deserved it, though...you should have seen Libby. She was super mad.”), they told her about how the dungeons had caved in and how classes had been suspended for the day while the teachers inspected the damage. They also told her about being down for the count for two straight days.

“You were practically a zombie for two whole days...n-not that’s a bad thing, though!” Hannah said, smiling nervously as Barbara shot her a glare as Diana blinked at her. “Nurse Matilda said you used a lot of magic to take care of that thing!”

Ah, that would explain her body’s soreness.

It didn’t happen often, but when a witch used a bit too much power for a spell they could accidentally cause damage to their body. Depending on the spell, the damage could be life threatening or cause mild discomfort for a few days.

Atsuko had said she used a basic Murowa to get rid of it, and while the extermination spell wasn’t the most powerful out there, it did pack it's own kind of punch. Still, from what Hannah and Barbara had told her, the spell had literally melted the dragon like it was nothing...just, how powerful had the spell being that it had literally melted one of the most powerful magical beasts known to witches? Just how powerful was Atsuko, really?

Diana glanced at her bed, as her teammates went on and on about classes and other unimportant recent events.

Eventually, lunch hour came to an end, and while they were unhappy to leave her alone, Hannah and Barbara excused themselves, trying to not look worried when they noticed Diana had barely touched her food.

With a final assurance that she was fine, the girls finally left. They returned to her side of the room seconds later, almost making Diana jump. “Ah...we kinda forgot to tell you…” Barbara turned to Hannah to continue.

“Yeah...they are kinda kicking you out of classes if they see you tomorrow morning…”

Diana blinked and then, stared. “...excuse me?”

“W-well…” Hannah stammered. “N-not in the literal sense! Nurse Matilda said you needed to rest for at least a week at most...and well…”

“...I...I see…” Diana nodded, that seemed fair, she was rather sore as it was and she had the slight suspicion that she would be falling asleep in classes were she allowed to go. Not that they were boring or anything of the sort but even wasn’t immune to the boredom that came from long lectures. Not that she’ll admit it outloud.

With one last goodbye, her teammates left for their classes, leaving Diana and her uninvited guest alone once more.

A loud puff alerted to Diana to Atsuko returning to her real form.

The girl was examining the tray of food before her. Diana had barely finished the sandwich and the salad had been left abandoned and the fruit had a few bite marks before it had been forgotten. The tea was still there, already cold.

Atsuko just stared at the tray before mumbling out a “They didn’t even bring dessert…” before she sighed, and took the half of the sandwich and took a bite.

The other witch watched her as she finished the sandwich and then, downed the cold tea in a single gulp.

“...not what I expected...but lunch is lunch, I guess…” Atsuko stared at her. “...your friends seem nice.”

“Ah…” Diana hadn’t expected that. “...thank you…” The cursed witch nodded, and then, eyed the salad with distaste.

“I can’t believe they still serve vermin food...is meat really hard to come by?”

Diana just shrugged. She wasn’t going into details on how Professor Badcock managed the finances of Luna Nova.

Magic had returned to the world over ten years back, but that didn’t mean it would magically pay for all of Luna Nova’s bills. It also didn’t help that the vice principal was rather...stingy, when it came to the school finances.

“...I apologize...for the lack of...well, meat...I suppose..”

Atsuko gave her a shrug of her own. “Whatever...seeing as you’re stuck here for the rest of the week you can just ask them to bring you food, right? Don’t see why one of the cooks would say no.” With that, the cursed witch gave another puff and turned into a small, brown cat before jumping on Diana’s bed and curling into a ball.

“...umm...Atsuko…?”

“...what?”

“...nothing.”

...this was going to be a very long week.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

A week later, Diana was well enough to go back to classes once more, although, Nurse Matilda had told the Cavendish heir to take it easy either way.

“Anything happens, you see me immediately, is that clear, Miss Cavendish?” Diana had nodded and had been sent on her way.

Her classmates and teachers were happy and glad to see her up and about. Most of the professors asked about her health, almost all of them apologizing for not coming to visit during her one week absence. Mia’s teammates also came to see her, surprising enough, thanking Diana for saving their skins. When Diana had inquired about their punishment, Sabrina had just smiled and said, “Mia’s just lucky she didn’t get expelled...but, she’s forbidden from going to town for a whole two months...we got bathroom cleaning to do for two more weeks...hers, is for the rest of the year...pretty fair, considering.”

“...I get the feeling that Mia might disagree.” Libby let out a small laugh.

“She doesn’t have a choice, either way!”

With one last thanks, Sabrina and Libby went back to their assignment, as Diana and her teammates were back to theirs.

And while Diana was happy to be back in class, she still couldn't get Atsuko out of her mind.

Just as she had predicted, the week had been long and difficult.

And despite convincing Hannah and Barbara to bring her extra food, the most Diana heard from the older witch was a simple 'thanks' before she turned into a small mouse and sulked by the corner, or underneath her desk or bed. 

Atsuko would do it every single day. One day it was mouse, another a cat, sometimes a small dog, and one time a snake (Diana had almost screamed when she saw the older witch slithering among the sheets), and a few times a small owl. 

The cursed witch never uttered a word, staying in her transformed state for hours on end as if it was some sort of comfort. 

Diana had tried, on numerous occasions, to start a conversation, only to be told that the other witch didn’t feel like talking.

A part of Diana didn't mind...the first few days, anyway. 

She was a criminal and a very powerful witch...but still a criminal. Why did Diana even care? 

Why did she even care that Atsuko was upset? She probably deserved it. Whatever she had done, this was her punishment...or was it? 

And yet, Diana worried. As the week passed, Atsuko just ate her fill of the food and curled up in her corner. She never talked, never cried, never nothing. It was...it was concerning. 

That's all it was, really. 

Diana was concerned. Nothing more. 

Even then, when Diana was well enough to go to class, she was almost tempted to pretend to be sick and avoid going just to make sure Atsuko wouldn't be left alone but Atsuko, surprisingly, reassured her that she wasn't going to do anything. 

“I...don’t feel like doing anything for a while...if that makes sense…”

Diana decided to believe the girl’s word, for now, at least until she made it back to her room and--

“Um...Diana…? Is...is the pot supposed to glow…?”

Wait. What?

“...Eh?”

_BOOOOMMMM!!_

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

Potions Class had been a disaster.

Diana didn’t even know how it happened.

Maybe...maybe she had been a little distracted, but not so much so that she had caused her pot to explode on her face.

Once the smoke cleared, everyone, even the rather eccentric Professor Lukic, had just stood there and stared. It wasn’t until Diana apologized to the teacher for her blunder that Lukic recovered with a rather nervous cackle and assured her that she was lucky she wasn’t getting punished because the professor was in such a good mood.

Next class was metamorphosis practice with Professor Badcock.

With the incident on Professor Lukic’s class still fresh on Diana’s mind, the blonde witch resolved to stop thinking about Atsuko to concentrate on the task at hand. Not that that stopped many of the other girls from staring at Diana as they watched her perform the metamorphosis spell on a squirrel.

Most were a little concerned when the squirrel remained the same, others gasped when Diana was engulfed in smoke and seconds later sprouted a pair of cat ears, a small pink nose and a tail.

It took Diana two seconds longer than her classmates to realize what had happened, but by then, she had accepted her fate as Professor Badcock just gawked at her.

Diana excused herself from class before the professor could recover, on the grounds that she needed to see the nurse. With that, Diana left, trying very hard to ignore the new ears and tail she now wore. 

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

Nurse Matilda laughed when she saw the proud Cavendish heir sporting cat’s ears and a tail, twitching angrily behind the girl’s skirt.

“Well, I see practice was rough today,” the nurse began, patting a bed nearby. “Come get a seat, Miss Cavendish...you need it.”

A few minutes later, Nurse Matilda was humming a small tune to herself as she made a few notes in a clipboard nearby.

Diana still had her cat’s ears and tail and little pink nose, but the embarrassment had disappeared a while ago.

“Well, Miss Cavendish...the good news is, that you’re looking alright, for a cat.”

Diana’s tail stood on end, and her eyebrow twitched as she asked, “And the bad?”

“Ho! Not much of a joker, are you?” the nurse chuckled. “There’s really no bad news, though...I should have expected this...but I assumed a witch of your caliber could handle it.” Matilda shrugged. “Guess I was wrong.”

“...huh?”

“Are you familiar with magical fatigue, Miss Cavendish?”

Magical fatigue, Diana recalled, was a strange condition that affected witches and wizards that used more power than what their bodies could stand. Usually, magical fatigue affected those witches or wizards that had been born with weak bodies or poor health.

While using magic had it's perks and consequences, those born with weak dispositions or fighting off illnesses were the most vulnerable to its effects.

Simple spells, such as light or repairing spells, could prove fatal to someone suffering from magical fatigue.

They would be short of breath in minutes, and start feeling their heart hammering in their chests as they fought to remain conscious. Failing that, they would collapse and some might never wake up again...just because they wanted to do something as simple as light their way or fix a pocket watch.

But, Diana couldn’t be suffering from the Fatigue. 

She felt fine, embarrassed beyond belief, but fine either way. 

“Now, I know what you’re thinking...how can you possibly be suffering the ill effects of magical fatigue if you haven’t collapsed yet…? Well, you are.” Nurse Matilda pointed at Diana’s white cat ears. “Magical fatigue has been documented on many witches that have used too much power...far too much what their bodies can handle...sometimes they...perish, or suffer some ill effects depending on the spell...the same as you did...your survival instinct must have kicked in,” Diana nervously turned to stare at her hands, “and you absorbed magic from the area nearby...converted it into magical energy...much more than what you could handle, and there lies your predicament.” Nurse Matilda patted the girl’s shoulder. “But, seeing as your health isn’t bad nor your body deteriorating, the fatigue is affecting your magical ability, not your body.” Diana turn to stare at the nurse, confused.

“...what do you mean…?”

“For explanation’s sake, I will say that using too much magic messed it up...you, know, like putting too much pressure on a bottle until it pops and spills out all it's contents. Your magic is pretty much still there...a glass half full as it were.” Well, that...that certainly made sense. Having too much or not enough magic led to accidents or failures...and Diana had been familiar with those back when she was younger. “Your magic will return to its natural state eventually...give or take a few months.”

“Huh!?”

“I know you don’t like it...but, hey, what can you do?” Nurse Matilda made a few more notes on her clipboard. “For the time being, why don’t you practice the basics again? Or better yet, try to dispel the your kittycat spell as practice...your magic is just not working correctly for a while, Miss Cavendish, nothing to be concerned about.”

“...but...classes...what about…”

“Classes? The written tests and all that I’m sure you can handle...your teachers will have to find a way to work around your...predicament. They’ll probably make you take private lessons with de Nor and Meridies for the time being...at least, until you can turn the squirrel into a cat and not just yourself.” She stared at Diana with a small smile. “It isn’t the end of the world just because you are messing up, Diana...now, off you go, my little kitty...take the day off, or at least until you can dispel this little mess of yours. I will let your teachers know.”

Diana gave her a nod, and walked as fast as her legs could take her towards her room.

A few students and fairies spotted her, some just standing there and staring at Diana’s tail before the latter disappeared around the corners.

Diana’s face was red as soon as she opened the door and closed it behind her.

She let out a sigh and then blinked at Atsuko, who was staring back at her, a book on her hand.

Apparently, the cursed witch had been reading on the couch before Diana rudely interrupted her. A very small part of Diana was happy she was not sulking in the corner anymore and then, she remembered her current predicament. 

The two stared at each other, Diana’s tail swishing about, as her ears twitched and her face got redder and redder by the minute.

Then, Atsuko began to laugh.

It was a soft, calm laugh. It was a laugh lacking malice, lacking sorrow. It was free and spirited and quite...cute.

“...Hehehehehahaha! Look at you!” Atsuko began, putting her book aside. “You’re soooo cute~!” Before Diana knew what was happening, Atsuko was moving towards her, extending her arms as if she wanted to give her a hug. “Hehehe! Can I pet you? You’re so cute and adorable!”

“A-Ab-absolutely not!” Diana cried, but the other witch ignored her. Atsuko moved to pet her head but Diana evaded her, and they began a small chase all over the blue team’s suite.

“Come on! Come on! Don’t run off, Diana! Let me pet you! Cute kitties must always be petted!”

“N-no! I’m not a pet! Get away!”

Atsuko just laughed and gave chase, cooing and calling her cute all the way. 

* * *

The cafe was near the outskirts of the big city and despite the slow service and lack of customers, the man liked their coffee.

It had just the right amount of milk and sugar. Perfect in every way.

He stared at the newspaper on his table, eyeing a few articles here and there. Nothing important. Too basic, too dull. 

Too much politics, too much foolishness coming from all over the world. 

Even the international magic section, too, seemed to be a lost cause, except fro a small article talking about the famous Luna Nova hidden on the corner. 

A dragon attack had been stopped by a selfless student. Huh. Structural damage had been the only cause of concern after the beast’s demise; it's dungeons had caved in.

That picked the man’s interest.

That particular little tidbit was...ack!

The man let out a small gasp as he grabbed his arm; the cup of coffee lying on its side on the table. He was alone, and the waiter was bound to notice the fallen cup in about ten minutes. The man knew this, and yet, that didn’t stop him from staring around, before he slowly pulled up his sleeve and stared at his wrist.

He choked on his spit as he noticed the purplish coloration on his skin.

“...no...no...not again…”

When the waiter came back with the receipt ten minutes later, the man was gone, the cup was still spilling its contents on the floor, and a fifty dollar bill had been left on the chair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who can it be now? 
> 
> He's not a cheap fellow that one.


	7. Mirror, Mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter of the year! Hurray! Anyway, sorry it took too long...got stuck a few times writing this one.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

**Mirror, Mirror**

**> <**

Every Friday, after supper, the kitchen goblins set upon the task of preparing the next meal for Saturday morning. 

While one half of the kitchen staff prepared the food, the other began the arduous task of counting off the amount of food, from the amount of flour, to the amount of vegetables, to the amount of meats and chicken and even grease! 

Every day, the girls were served a certain amount of food, whether it be a sandwich, cut in two to feed not one but two, or a salad, a single serving of half a cup with five, just five, croutons and a slice of tomato to top it off, sometimes it was chicken; a leg for one girl and a small piece of chicken breast for another, and so on and so forth. Most of these meals were accompanied by fruit and a potato salad (for potatoes they had plenty) or sometimes the simple salad would suffice. If any student was feeling sick, a small soup was prepared for them. The soup was made with potatoes and some onion and carrots. 

Weekends, however, meant a different sort of menu, like a single pancake, some fruit salad and freshly squeezed orange juice. Hurray. 

The goblins grumbled as they worked. 

Ten years ago, they had prepared feasts that rivaled those of kings; they had prepared small birds cooked to perfection, mixed up salads with salt and pepper and tomato and cheese, sandwiches were whole and plentiful filled with turkey or ham and sometimes even tuna. It was a paradise of food and the goblins were always happy to hear the girls compliment them, a few even asking for the recipe of this or that. 

And then, one day, the vice principal, Badcock, had marched into the kitchens and asked them to count the food. It was a simple task, back then, but then again, back then they did not know about the financial troubles that had begun to plague Luna Nova.

When Professor Chariot de Nor returned magic to the world, Luna Nova prospered. 

Old families of witches that had broken off all connections with the academy once more associated themselves with the school. Politicians began to sponsor the academy, offering donations in exchange for advice on living in this new, magical world. 

And yet despite all the publicity and good fortune that had befallen Luna Nova, they still fell in hard times. 

Food was not getting cheaper and despite the discounts, Badcock had noticed they wasted more than enough of food as it was. Materials, too, were hard to come by and even expensive to procure. 

While the goblins and the other magical creatures lived off of magical energy from the Sorcerer's Stone, the same could not be said of the food and materials the witches needed in Luna Nova. 

Food needed to be brought in and out by a driver, they had to pay for that. The food too. And materials were generally ordered by phone and until recently the internet thanks to Professor Meridies. Those needed money as well. 

Apparently, Badcock had made the calculations and she had found that they were wasting more money each year, that and coupled by some debt the school had, had forced Badcock to cut some corners in order to save money. 

No more feasts, no more banquets, the girls would get a filling meal along with some fruit and tea or juice. 

Materials would have to be brought in by the teachers themselves, but it was wasteful and laborious and so, they picked the youngest teachers to collect materials necessary for the classes. Until recently, Professor de Nor was one of the few teachers to go about collecting materials; an accident with a few poachers years back had resulted in her coming into contact with Wagandea pollen. The poachers had come prepared when they came hunting for some magical creatures to sell on the black market but Chariot found them first. They made their escape as the poor professor coughed and coughed and lost a bit of her magic that day. 

After that accident, Professor Meridies, Chariot’s closets friend, added many security measures around the school while the Headmistress called for the poachers to be captured and punished. They never did catch those scoundrels.

Weeks after, Chariot had proposed to the Headmistress that they should ask a few students for help in gathering the materials the teachers needed. The Headmistress agreed and so, once a month a few students went to gather the materials necessary for classes, accompanied by the flightless Chariot and another Professor, usually Meridies, to guide the students. Meridies also aided the girls by sending a few unusual disc like machines with them, as they made finding items in dangerous spots easier. As a bonus for all their hard work, the students that helped would be given either a day off or extra credit. 

In the end, these moves had saved the school a lot of money, but they had cost a teacher her ability to fly and had made the cooks grumble and despair at the simple meals they cooked and prepared. 

And so, they began to measure the flour, count the liters of milk, count the eggs, count the ham and turkey and--

“...we are missing two apples!” 

The kitchen went silent, before the goblins turned their eyes towards one of their own near the basket of apples. 

He looked annoyed at the basket and at the clipboard on his hands before he pointed at the basket. 

“...missing two!” he said again, hoping someone would answer. 

The head goblin, Razz, came forth. He was a bit taller than the other goblins, and his skin glowed an olive green, but his eyes were kind and gentle, despite the expression he wore. 

Razz extended a hand. The other goblin gave the head goblin his clipboard and watched as Razz stared at the clipboard and then stared at him. 

“...how many times did ya boys count?” 

“Three,” came another goblin, nodding. 

“Three?” Razz asked and the goblins near the apples nodded. “...alright...count another time, just to be absolutely sure...if not, well,” Razz shrugged returning the clipboard to the goblin, “nothing we can do about that.” And so, the kitchen staff went back to work, but a small question filled all their minds...where had those two apples gone? 

* * *

“May I ask where did you get that…?”

“Hmm? What?” 

“The apple. Where did you get it?” 

“I found it...?” 

“Did you?” 

Diana tried not to frown as Atsuko sent her a cheeky grin and took a bite of the apple she had been holding. 

It had been three days since Diana’s catastrophe and with it came changes to her schedule and her classes. 

The next day, after Atsuko helped her get rid of her cat ears, nose and tail, Diana had been called to the Headmistress’s office to discuss her current problem. Matilda had apparently explained what had happened to the older woman and how her magic had been affected. 

Headmistress Holbrooke had suggested Diana take her classes as normal but refrain from trying to use spells, even the simple ones. And, just as Matilda had predicted, Professor Chariot and Professor Croix would be offering her tutoring sessions twice a week to practice simple spells. Professor Nelson, too, would aid Diana, as they didn’t know if the Fatigue would also mess up her ability to fly in the broom, so the next class, Nelson will have the girls doing something else while she supervised Diana.  

While Diana had not complained about the tutoring or the supervision, a part of her was rather annoyed by it all. 

She had gone through all of this once, when she was seven, after her mother...well, she didn’t want to think about that. 

What’s done was done. 

At least, she could still use magic, even if it was clumsy and unfocused. 

“Ah, don’t feel bad about it,” Atsuko had told her once the girl had returned from her meeting with the Headmistress and the other teachers. “I was probably worse than you when I was...well...you know, your age...I was just terrible!” 

Diana could hardly believe that. 

A witch that had mastered Metamorphosis Magic to the point they could remain in that altered form for extended periods of time even while they slept, showed nothing but true mastery. Not many witches could manage such control, and even Diana had not achieved the level of control and skill Atsuko seemed to exhibit. It wasn’t every day someone could pretend to be Diana Cavendish and get away with it. 

“Have you been taking apples from the kitchens?” 

“They were on the table and I was hungry!” Atsuko whined, making Diana sigh. “You haven’t been bringing food lately! What was I supposed to do?” 

“Not steal, perhaps?” 

Atsuko let out another whine. Honestly, for someone that was over a hundred years old, she acted like such a kid. 

“They were in the table! Some girls were just leaving them there! How was I supposed to know it was theirs!?” Diana wanted to sigh again, but she knew that Atsuko had every right to complain. 

It had been rather difficult to get extra food now that she was up and about and what Diana did manage to sneak back to Atsuko had left the cursed witch asking for more. 

And if that wasn’t enough, she had been prohibited from going to town until the end of the week. Not that she went to town often, but still, it had cut off one way to get Atsuko what she wanted. 

“Maybe you should just let me go to town. I mean, they can’t tell me what to do.” 

“I’ll rather not.” 

“Come ooonnnn! I’m hungry! And you’re busy, too! What am I supposed to do!? Stay as a broom until food arrives? Let me tell you, being a broom is no fun at all!” 

“In school, I, at least, can keep an eye on you.” 

“Why for?” Atsuko took another bite of the apple. “I’m not that bad. And sure, I may be some sort of criminal, but come on! Have a little faith in me!” The cursed witch grinned and finished off the apple in three solid bites. “Besides  _ munch munch  _ the only one that would recognize me would be the old  _ munch munch  _ hag.” 

“...and what if someone else does? Do you want us to both get in trouble?” 

“...I’m already in trouble, little girl.” Atsuko reminded her, as she grabbed the second apple from the top of Diana’s pillow. “...I just want some food...is it really too much to ask?” Diana sighed, and stared sadly at her notes. 

“...for now...I’m afraid it is. Please, just bare a little longer...I will try to see if I can get you something to eat later tonight.” 

“...hmph...fine.” 

* * *

The next day, while everyone was in class, the kitchen goblins were rather shocked to see young Diana Cavendish running past them, a sandwich half finished in her mouth. In her hands, she carried a bunch of sandwiches, precariously balanced with some apples in between. The goblins blinked in shock as the girl disappeared with some of the lunch that would be served that day.

Once they finally recovered, Razz pointed a finger and cried out “Get ‘er!” and they all chased after the little thief. 

They lost her almost immediately in one the halls, losing her after she turned a corner. Razz ordered the goblins to look around, and for a few minutes they were at it, trying to find where the girl had gone. 

As they were searching, Professor Croix walked by, carrying a small bag in her hands, and chewing at something she quickly gulped down. 

When Razz stopped her to ask about the Cavendish girl, the teacher expressed surprise and said that she was pretty sure Diana was supposed to be in class. The goblins let out grumbles as well, and decided to go to the Headmistress to confirm what Croix had told them. 

Had any of them bothered to stay in the hall, they would have noticed the professor grinning mischievously, before she disappeared in a puff of smoke and was replaced by Diana Cavendish, who walked as quickly as she could back to her room. 

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

A few days later, Diana Cavendish was seen stealing food from the kitchens again, and again the goblins chased after her, losing her as quickly as they had seen her. 

The goblins grumbled and complained, but they were constantly told by others that Diana couldn’t have stolen anything. She was in class, she was in the library, heck, one time she was even in the cafeteria, right there in front of other goblins when another heist took place. 

At this point, everyone had agreed (as the goblins mumbled and complained) that someone was impersonating Diana to get her in trouble. And whoever it was, they were terrible at it. 

For one, the little trickster would only steal whenever Diana was in class or in the library or taking private lessons with Professors Chariot or Croix. There was always witnesses. 

All in all, everyone agreed that this one wasn’t that smart...and then, they’ll remember that they hadn’t caught her yet and the kitchen goblins would grumble some more. 

Hannah and Barbara, for their part, could not believe the gall of some people and right after Diana had saved the school from that dragon. The nerve! Even poor, sweet Diana, seemed annoyed of it all, especially when the goblins would glare at her as they served the meals. 

She didn’t show it, but Hannah and Barbara knew their friend was just as mad as they were about this whole thing. And still, that little thief was nowhere to be found. 

But that wasn’t going to stop Hannah or Barbara. They had had enough of this little scoundrel and they were going to put their foot down. On Tuesday, they began to ask around for a little bit of help to capture Luna Nova’s infamous food thief. 

* * *

“...and they still haven’t found the little brat?”

“Not yet. Which is odd...you would think one of the girls would have spoken up by now...Still...it’s odd that Diana hasn't started making inquiries by now...she’s usually so on top of things.” 

“You know how that kid is Chariot, besides, she’s probably more concerned about getting her magic back in order than some brat masquerading as her.” 

“I suppose you are right…” 

On the other side of the school, sitting inside a small room, overlooked by a small, circular window, where Professors Chariot de Nor and Croix Meridies. Both woman sat besides Chariot’s cluttered desk, trying to find a save spot to put their teacups on. 

“Seriously, Chariot! Look at this!” Croix remarked, making signs at the books and papers lying on the table. “What’s with all this mess?” 

“Like you’re one to talk!” Chariot said back, huffing as she tried to fix the table so they could take their tea in peace. “Your room is even worse! Is your room still locked?” Croix took a sip of her tea as the other professor finally moved the books and papers to another side of the desk. 

“...okay, so my electronic lock has some problems…” Chariot snickered at that, while her friend sent her a scowl. “...so it locked me out.” 

“And that’s why you’re sleeping over...again.” Chariot happily pointed out, as Alcor, her crow familiar, let out a cackle from his perch nearby. 

“...but I almost managed to hack it open...might need Constanze to help me out again, but...I’m making progress!” Chariot laughed. “Anyhow, you do have a point about someone talking...maybe it's one of those old hags...got bored or something.” 

“Croix!” 

“What? You don’t believe they wouldn’t? They kept a dragon underneath the school and them masquerading as a student is the scandalous part?” Croix shrugged. “It’s a wonder Diana even got rid of that thing…” the woman shuddered. She could still see the charred and melting corpse of the old dragon in her mind. 

“Matilda did say it was something to do with her survival instinct forcing her to absorb energy from the area to destroy it…” Chariot said, staring at her cup. “...which is odd to me...the seals placed on the dungeons would have made that impossible…”

Croix shrugged. “The seals they put over a thousand years ago...yeah, sure...we both know that that’s not exactly true...remember?” 

“...well, we only went there like one time…” 

“...and got lost...that was stupid.” 

“H-hey! You came with me, too, you know!” 

“...and that was stupid of me.” Croix smirked at Chariot’s annoyed expression. “Remember that freaking minotaur that chased us all over the place?” Her redheaded companion groaned. 

“Don’t even remind me! How was I supposed to know he was there when I threw that rock!?” 

“Why did you even threw one in the first place?” Chariot shrugged. “If the seals were working properly, we wouldn’t have run into that guy in the first place...and maybe, just maybe, Miss Armstrong wouldn’t have released the moving heater in the first place…” 

Chariot sighed. “...it's a good thing that little mouse guided us out, huh…?” Croix smiled. 

“We got lucky we ran into a friendly critter that day, or else we would have been cow food.” Chariot laughed. 

“...okay...so maybe the seals are failing…but it still doesn’t answer where all that energy came from.” The inventor shrugged as she finished her tea. 

“...well, magic was restored ten years ago...maybe it’s just building up down there.” 

“With no one noticing?” 

“...so long as it's not destroying the school, I’m pretty sure it's fine.” 

“Except for the dragon.” 

“And the minotaur that might still be in those dungeons...you know, if it wasn’t crushed by that cave-in.” 

Chariot hummed as she stared at her cup again and said, “What do you think happened to that little mouse?” 

“...well...there’s a possibility it's already dead.” 

“Croix…” 

“What?” 

“I mean...it must have been someone’s familiar...the little thing was so smart.” Croix seemed to think about it before she nodded. 

“...probably still dead.” 

“Croix!”

“What? Mice don’t live long, Chariot!” 

“You’re hopeless.” 

“Only because you loved the little critter so much you wanted to take it home with you.” 

“It was adorable,” Chariot agreed. “And, I’m pretty sure Alcor wouldn’t have minded the company.” 

“...Maybe it sensed Alcor and knew it would be in trouble and that’s why it ran off right as we were leaving towards the exit.” Alcor let out a caw of amusement. “See?” Chariot glared playfully at her friend, before shaking her head. “Who knows, maybe the little critter found a new owner or ran off to start a family somewhere…because I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have stayed with that minotaur running around.” 

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

Diana glared at Atsuko as she watched her eat another sandwich. 

“...I cannot believe you would do this.” 

“What?” Atsuko said, between bites. “I was  _ munch  _ hungry!” 

“That does not condone stealing.” 

“The food is free.” Atsuko retorted, finishing her sandwich. “Besides, you’re taking too long.” 

“...And I apologized, didn’t I? I can’t seem to find the time.” 

“...and you can’t make time?” 

“I’m trying.” 

“Well, I’m starving,” Atsuko responded, as she began to eat another sandwich. She offered the unbitten side to Diana. “Want some?” 

“...Atsuko…” 

“What?” 

“...you know exactly what.” 

Atsuko shrugged and went on eating the food. 

“If only you had let me go around town, I wouldn’t have to resorted to getting the food from the kitchens...I mean, I’m not going to do anything.” 

“I find that a little hard to believe.” 

“...okay, so I took it without permission…” 

“You ran off while the cooks yelled after you...I was there when you did it that one time!” Diana told her, hands on her hips. “...Are you doing this on purpose?” 

“Well, I tried to look like one of the cooks but it would have been too obvious…” Atsuko commented, gulping down the last piece of bread and ham. “I figured they wouldn’t think too much when  _ you _ showed up. But they were big jerks about it! Couldn’t even get an apple!” 

Diana sighed at that. 

If Professor Badcock was strict about the budget, the kitchen goblins were even worse with the food, which they counted and organized for the next meal. 

“...I see…” 

“It wasn’t this bad when I...well, they weren’t this strict with the food, that’s for sure...”

Diana tried not to think much about that last remark, completely forgetting for a moment that Atsuko Kagari was over a hundred years old and had been a student of Luna Nova. 

“...It’s just the way it has been for the past five years,” Diana commented, trying not to think of a time where Luna Nova had held feasts and offered meals that were filling and wonderful. “Still, it is better to start making plans.” Atsuko stopped eating to stare at Diana. 

“Huh?” 

“About going to town...I will be allowed to go at the end of the week...I...I buy you food and you stop stealing.” 

“...and what about your teammates?” 

“What about them?” 

“Won’t they think it’s strange that you’re bringing all this food and it's suddenly disappearing?” Diana blinked. 

“What? They don’t have to know.” 

“They haven’t left you alone ever since you returned with the cat ears and the tail,” Atsuko pointed out, smiling at the red tint on Diana’s cheeks. “I’m surprised they even left you alone today.” 

“...I suppose…”

“What if they decide to tag along when we go to town and see you grabbing all this extra food?” 

“...when you put that way…” 

“Look, just let me go and buy some things...you got money, right?” Diana nodded. “So, I just buy the food, hide it and everyone wins! Well, me more so than everyone else, but then I won’t be starving.” 

Diana seemed to think about it for a while before, finally, nodding. “Very well.” 

“Yay!” 

“But, on one condition.” 

“...aww, really?” 

“Yes,” Diana began, her face impassive, before she crossed both arms over her chest. “I will be accompanying you...I will try to convince the girls that I want to be alone for a while and we’ll go from there.” Atsuko seemed to think about it before shrugging.

“...good luck with that.” 


	8. On the Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some things are answered and the girls play tag.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

**On the Wall**

**> <**

According to _“A Guide to Metamorphosis”_ , altering the forms of a living thing required a certain amount of control and magical power to achieve perfection.

For example, if one were to turn a squirrel into a rabbit, the amount of magic used would make all the difference. Control, the book explained, was another factor in the perfection of the spell, as it dictated for how long a witch could maintain the artificial form of the subject before the spell broke and the subject returned to normal.

The key was proportions.

While the Animal Transformation Spell wasn’t a difficult spell to learn, it still required a certain amount of control and a certain amount of magic to be used effectively. Use too much magic and the spell could break, or fail to work altogether. Too little control, and the spell would fail instantly. Too little magic and too much control would just add extra appendages to the caster, the subject unaffected by the spell. Usually, the effects of this last one broke after a certain amount of time or until another witch dispelled the effects of the incantation.

For Atsuko, mastering the transformation spell became a necessity.

It took her days until finally, _finally_ , she got it right.

She had been so happy when she whispered the words and had a body again. She jumped and danced and tripped all over the place.

Atsuko was just so happy. So happy.

She wasn’t human, but back then, it hadn’t mattered. Being a mouse was better than being a broom any day.

Still, despite her new mobility and freedom, this new form came with other things that Atsuko had missed as a human.

Hunger and thirst came first.

Atsuko had been reading a book, turning the pages with her little paws, when her stomach rumbled and groaned. She had ignored it, but then, a few hours later, her tiny stomach began to bang inside her small body demanding to be fed.

The little mouse did not know what to do, and after that particular painful stomachache, she had broken the spell and turned back into a broom. She sighed in relief as the pain disappeared along with the feeling of hunger.

When she turned into a mouse days later, the feeling returned tenfold and with it, came thirst. Atsuko still remembered her dry throat, choking her as her stomach roared in anguish.

She had turned into a broom after that and had paced一jumped一all over the room, thinking: what had just happened?

This didn’t make any sense. She hadn’t felt hunger or thirst, much less pain, as  broom, for so long, she had forgotten about it. The old hags did say that she “wouldn’t feel” and they were right. Sort of.

Atsuko could still feel things but not their effects. She could feel the water but wouldn’t care if it was hot or cold. She could feel the ground and not care if she had stepped upon a loose nail or broken glass.

But the moment Atsuko had turned into a mouse, all those things came back. The cold felt cold again. Hot was hot. She remembered tripping as she danced with joy and remembered how much the little bump on her head had hurt.

It took hours before Atsuko finally understood why this was happening.

She had been human before she had been a broom. Atsuko had always been human and as a result, the moment she turned into a living creature, the hunger and thirst and pain returned.

As a broom, Atsuko didn’t need to worry about food, water, sleep or the cold, but as a living, breathing creature, she had to eat and drink and sleep and warm herself up to survive.

Once she knew what was wrong, Atsuko grew discouraged; she couldn’t maintain a form that was constantly dying because it wasn’t drinking or eating well.

The cursed witch tried to think of an alternative, maybe turn into an animal that didn’t require a lot of sustenance to survive, but that would only solve her problem until she grew hungry again and she had learned the hard way that the hunger doesn’t really go away once she turned into a mouse again.

Atsuko, instead, focused on the simple solution; if she wanted to be a living creature again, she’ll have to find water and food to fight against the thirst and the hunger.

Finding water was the easy part.

The dungeons of Luna Nova, Atsuko had learned, were huge. Some walls had crumbled and buried away old rooms and hallways, but other walls still remained standing, fighting against the elements who had found their way inside; small openings and holes on the walls and ceiling allowed the rain from the outside to come in. The halls would turn into tiny rivers that would wash everything away, the water sliding down stairs that led deeper into the dungeons. A small lake had formed in the lower levels as the years went by.

The water was fresh and if Atsuko managed to find a way to collect the water that came from the outside she wouldn’t need to go to the lower levels in the first place.

Food, however, proved to be a source of discomfort for Atsuko.

Atsuko Kagari had grown up in farm. She was used, or had been used to eating rice and fruits from the trees they grew near their home and fish as well that they caught when the harvests went poorly. Even here in Luna Nova, she had eaten many fruits and meats and juices of different kinds.

The food in the dungeons ranged from spiders to cockroaches to mosquitoes. She had even seen a few reptiles scurrying about here and there, like salamanders and snakes. Worms, too, were plentiful in the lower levels where the lake had formed. Fish, too, had somehow managed to make their way to the lower level’s lake somehow, but without a way to trap them, Atsuko focused on the bugs and animals she could catch without a fuss.

So, after hours and days of planning, Atsuko hunted for the precious water and food to keep her going.

Days after, Atsuko had somehow managed it; as a broom, she had managed to collect enough food and water to last a few days before she set off again.

**_> >><<<_ **

**_> ><<_ **

One day, she saw them.

She had been out exploring as a mouse, a small sack made out of old clothes carrying her latest acquisitions on her tiny back; some paper, a feather, and a small vial of salt.

Atsuko used the shadows to hide, and she watched, curiously, as the pack of students grumbled and whispered as they looked around. An older witch stood nearby, balancing herself on a stick.

Atsuko could barely recognize old Professor Clare Beauregard.

The professor she remembered had not been too old, but she hadn't been young either, but rather a little bit of both. Professor Beauregard had a belly she hid with loose clothing, and her long, platinum hair, was always loose and somehow messy despite the professor’s constant pampering as she was teaching class. Now, the image in Atsuko’s mind was broken by this new apparition of the old teacher. The belly was gone, but her clothes were still loose, but hung up like wet towels, barely hiding her skeletal fingers. Her long, platinum hair was still there, still messy. The poor woman no longer stood tall, now she was hunched, her body seemingly held together by the walking stick on her hands.

The old professor pointed a shaky finger into the darkness of the hall nearby.

“Ladies!” Professor Beauregard's voice resonated all over, making Atsuko flinch as she hid deeper into the shadows and inched closer to the group. “This scavenger hunt is simple and right to the point!”

Scavenger what now?

“You will seek out the items listed on your parchments...the first team to recover all the items and present them before the day ends will earn the passing grade...any questions?”

The girls shook their heads, while a few shrugged and one, timidly tried to raise her hand but was ignored by Beauregard as she spoke again.  

“Very well. Let the hunt begin!” And she cackled as she slammed her walking stick into the ground and disappeared in a shower of butterflies.

Atsuko stared at the spot her old teacher had been in just seconds ago, before turning towards the girls, who had started to talk amongst themselves, while others stared at a piece of paper in their hands.

“...a rat’s tail? We need a rat’s tail for the old hag?”

“Nelson…”

“What? Come on, a rat’s tail? Really!? Does she also want the hand of a newt?”

“...no, just a salamander’s guts, actually.”

“Lukic, not helping.”

“What? It says so right in the list! Kekeke!!”

Atsuko gulped at the cackle along with a few other students.

Taking a deep breath, Atsuko turned tail and ran, the voices of the girls mare echos in her ears.

She needed to get ready, if any of those girls found her there would be trouble.

But, Atsuko had worried for nothing, as the girls finished their scavenger hunt thing without finding her little room, or taking her little tail for their list.

As they left, Atsuko scratched her tiny head, wondering just how long she had spent in the dungeons that the once young professor had turned old and wrinkly. She tried not to think how old her old classmates were as she ran towards her little room and hid herself in her books.

What seemed like months later, the same girls showed up, older and more determined. A new teacher accompanied them, saying the same speech Professor Beauregard had said to the girls before she clapped her hands and disappeared in a puff of smoke as the girls scattered around.

Atsuko never did see her old professor again.

* * *

When Diana arrived at her room after classes, she found her roommates waiting for her. She noticed Barbara first, who waved as the Cavendish girl close the door. Hannah smiled her way, as she began to prepare some tea nearby.

Diana nodded at Barbara and Hannah as she made her way towards her side of the room, glancing with some small interest at the packages of tea and biscuits the girls had placed on the nearby table.  

Once she was behind the bookcase, Diana quickly began to put her things away, looking around. The cursed witch was nowhere to be seen, but Diana expected this. If either Hannah or Barbara arrived earlier than Diana, Atsuko would hide under their teammate’s bed, waiting for the moment when the two girls or girl would leave the room.

She  _accidentally_ dropped one of her books on the floor. Diana waited, half expecting for either Hannah or Barbara to hear the book fall and come to her aid. She let out a sigh of relief when neither appeared,perhaps too busy making tea and small talk to care.

Diana bent down and picked up the book, before scanning the floor before her.

Atsuko wasn’t under the bed.

The younger witch tried not to scowl.

She was out stealing...agai一huh? She almost didn’t see it. But there, underneath her bed, was a small piece of paper that Diana swears was not there before today.

The girl picked up the small paper, and sitting up, stared at some messy handwriting that spelled out, **_“Went to the library to get a book! Akko”_ **. Diana blinked before she frowned.

Diana only hoped she wasn't pretending to be her, as she was just in the library ten minutes ago. The librarian would surely notice if something was amiss and with the word going around about Luna Nova’s little thief, she was bound to get suspicious if the other Diana came calling.

“Hey, Diana?”

The girl in question almost jumped upon hearing Hannah’s voice. She crumbled the piece of paper quickly and put in on the nearby trash bin, before walking towards the other side of the room.

“Yes?”

Barbara had already finished making the tea and stared expectantly at Diana with a cup of the drink in hand.

“We got this old tea at the store and we were, like, wondering if you would like it,” Barbara began, smiling softly.

“Avery recommended it. Helps with the stress and whatnot,” Hannah explained, as she drank a bit out of her own cup. “Wanna try it?”

Diana smiled.

It had been some time since she got to hang out with her teammates without worrying about Atsuko or dragons or her failing magic.

“Of course,” Diana said, taking the cup from Barbara while their friend was opening a bag of biscuits nearby.

“...it may be a little...umm...dry at first, though,” Barbara explained as she watched Diana take a sip. She smiled nervously when Diana grimaced.

“I would say...the mixing is a little off...” Diana explained, eyeing the small table near the couches for the sugar. “...this one would benefit more with a little bit of...sweetness, I suppose.”

“Told you,” Hannah said from behind them, the bag of biscuits emptied over a silver plate. “Milk and sugar makes it taste better if you ask me.” Barbara chuckled nervously before she glanced at the pot of tea on the table.

“Did...did I, like, not mix the thing right?”  

“It is fine, Barbara...it’s just….” Diana shook her head. It felt odd. She felt odd. She blinked, trying to drive the odd sense of drowsiness that had suddenly taken hold as she began to sit on one of the couches. “Maybe the mix,” Diana let out a small yawn, “maybe the mix is…” Diana leaned against the couch, just barely managing to put the cup on the table before it could slip from her clumsy and numb fingers. Her eyes were closing all on their own, despite Diana’s best efforts to keep them open. Another yawn interrupted her thoughts as the feeling of sleep overwhelmed her. She leaned deeper into the couch, trying to find a better position as her eyes closed on her. Diana yawned again.

As she let sleep finally take hold of her, she heard the voice of her roomates whispering, “We’re so sorry, Diana…”

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

Once they knew that Diana was fast asleep, Hannah and Barbara let out a sigh of relief.

“I can’t believe we just drugged her tea…” Hannah murmured with a shake of her head. “...why did we even agree to this part of the plan again?” She watched as Barbara began to move Diana into a more comfortable position in the couch.

“I don’t like playing tricks on Diana either, you know,” Barbara told her, sending a look at her friend. “ But, if we wanna catch that jerk, Diana has to stay out of it.”

“...I still can’t believe we gave her one of Manbavaran’s potions…”

Hours before Diana would take the drugged tea, Hannah and Barbara had met up with the members of the red and green teams outside in the courtyard. Out of everyone they could find, they were the only ones willing to help out in finding the thief of Luna Nova.

Lotte Yanson and Sucy Manbavaran were the sole members of the red team and had been the first to come to Hannah and Barbara’s aid. They had mentioned to the girls how they had been hounded by the other teams because apparently the little thief wore a red sash.

“A few of the girls are thinking that Sucy’s playing a prank…” Lotte had explained as her friend rolled her visible eye.

“As if...if I wanted to play a prank on them I would feed them this Tongue-Twister potion,” Sucy grinned as the remaining members of the blue team stood nervously nearby.

“A-anyway, the point is that they think we are doing it...and if you guys need help, well...count on us!”

It was only after hearing about the red team that Amanda O’Neill’s own team, green, joined them.

“It would be fun,” Amanda had explained when Hannah had asked her about it. “The school’s boring, so chasing that little thief might calm the boredom.” Her teammates only nodded, Jasminka smiling sweetly and Constanze offering a thumbs up with a serious expression.

Soon, the seven girls were on their way, planning out how they would catch the thief.

They figured chasing the girl wouldn't work. A few had tried that, heck, a few of the teachers had tried too, but she had eluded them.

“How about we chase her to a trap, then?” Amanda had asked.

“...you mean like make her run in certain direction so we don’t lose her on the halls?”

“Yep! Constanze here has a rocket launcher, she could probably modify it to throw nets or something, right Cons?” The smaller girl had nodded while everyone else, minus Jasminka, wondered why Constanze had a rocket launcher in the first place. “If that don’t work, Sucy can make a sticky bomb or something.” Sucy let out a toothy grin.

“I have some snail’s slime I wanted to try...I can make a potion that would make her stick to the floors...either that or her shoes melt.”

“I could give you some honey to make it extra sticky, too! Would that work?” Jasminka had asked with a smile which widen when Sucy nodded in thanks. 

“That could work...make it sticky...her shoes won’t stick...but, her clothes might melt…”

“We could also cancel her transformation spell, though...if the honey or slime won’t work,” Lotte had pointed out.

“We could try,” Barbara had said, nodding. “If nothing else, we would at least know who she is.”

And so, with a plan set, they waited.

But, they didn’t have to wait long.

Minutes before they arrived in their room, Lotte had sent them a small message via magical paper that mentioned that Amanda and her team had spotted the little thief walking around, except her sash wasn’t red this time, it was green. Had Constanze not pointed out the difference, the green team would have assumed it was the real Diana Cavendish.

They followed after her, before losing her near the library, never alerting her to their presence.

Seconds later, a Diana with a blue sash, walked out of the library, caring a couple of books on her hands. She gave the green team a polite nod, and walked towards her room.

As soon as she had left, Amanda had rushed inside the library and asked the librarian if another girl had barged in, lying about the girl ‘owing her money’ and such. The librarian assured her and said that the only person that had come barging in was her.

Satisfied with the older woman’s answer, Amanda rejoined her team outside as Jasminka sent the message to Lotte who in turn sent a message to Hannah and Barbara to begin the first part of the plan.

Sucy had, kindly, provided them with some sleeping potion.

“If we can get rid of at least one of the Dianas walking around, it will make things much more easier,” the girl had explained. “This will knock her out in seconds, just pour it on her tea or something.”

And now, as they watched Diana sleep, the two girls quickly left the room, locking the door behind them.

They let out a sigh of relief.

“I can’t believe we still did it, though,” Hannah muttered again, as she and Barbara stared at their closed door.

“I know...but what can we do?”

“...You could have drugged the troublemaker, for example...A potion like that could very well break the control of the spell, if you’re lucky, ” a third voice spoke up, sounding amused. Hannah and Barbara nodded in understanding...and then, blinked in confusion. They quickly turned towards the unknown speaker and then, stared.

Standing before them was Diana Cavendish, a smile on her face and a green sash on her hip. The three of them stood there, staring at each other before the troublemaker put a hand on her chin and grinned. Hannah and Barbara scowled but before they could do anything the fake Diana let out a laugh and ran.

“Wait!”

“Stop, you jerk!!”

As they ran after her, Barbara quickly sent out a message to Lotte and the others.

_She’s heading for the library!_

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

After receiving Barbara’s message, Lotte turned to Amanda and Sucy and nodded.

“I can’t believe we are dumping this on the floor,” Lotte commented as she watch her teammate pouring the contents of the small cauldron in the floor. “Will it really hold?”

“Only if she’s an Olympic jumper or can walk on water,” Sucy commented, sounding bored as she took out her wand and with a simple flick and swish, made it so her sticky concoction was spread well on the floor. “Besides, Constanze has the firepower to stop her if anything goes wrong.”

Suddenly, they heard yelling and footsteps nearby and seconds later, spotted Hannah and Barbara chasing after fake Diana, who was laughing and grinning as they shouted at her.

“Here she comes!” Amanda said, grinning. “Wait until she gets trapped on the glue there, and they, fire!” The smaller witch by her side nodded, preparing her rocket launcher to catch their little troublemaker.

Everyone waited. Lotte eyeing the girl nervously, while Sucy grinned and Jasminka ate her chips. Amanda only grinned and leaned against the wall, waiting for the inevitable as Constanze stared at the girl who was about to walk into the stick trap and一

The troublemaker ran over the first time, everyone watching in awe as the potion failed to stick and trap her. Hannah and Barbara could only gasp as they stopped a foot just barely from stepping on the sticky liquid on the floor.

“You gotta do better than that!” the troublemaker cried in Diana’s voice and Constanze took that as her cue.

She ran up towards the fake Diana’s retreating form and then fired.

The small net met its mark seconds later, slamming against the faker’s back and knocking her to the floor. “ACK!”

“WHOO! Nice one, Cons!”

The girls ran towards her, taking special care to avoid Sucy’s sticky trap, but, before they could reach her, the troublemaker let out a small, cheerful laugh and then, _poof_! The net fell to the floor, empty, making the other girls stop in their tracks.

“She….!”

“She fuckin’ disappeared!!”

“What in heaven’s name is this!?”

The girls all jumped when they heard the loud shout of the librarian behind them; the poor woman and a few other students that had left the library to check out the noise, had all fallen on Sucy’s sticky trap and were struggling to get up and free themselves from the gooey adhesive.

“...well,” Sucy commented after a moment, “at least their clothes didn’t melt.”

“Sucy!”

Meanwhile, some distance away, watching the scene unfold, Atsuko let out a small, mousy smile and then, broke off into a run, wondering when was the last time she had this much fun.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait...had trouble with this one. Wasn't satisfied with the beginning.


	9. A Visit to Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Diana and Akko fight...and then, go on a date...sort of.

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

**A Visit to Town**

**> <**

Diana woke up feeling a bit numb; her arms felt heavy, her legs felt sore, as if she had slept all wrong and her muscles were paying for her careless nap. She blinked, yawned, stretched, and then passed a delicate hand over her face in an effort to force herself awake. Another yawn escaped her lips as the world manifested itself in front of her. 

The first thing Diana noticed was that she wasn’t in her bed. She was in the couch, her eyes staring at the small table in the middle. A teacup lay on top of it, still full and probably cold by this point. 

Atsuko Kagari sat on the other couch, munching away the biscuits that had been placed on the table by Hannah some time ago. 

“Oh, you’re awake!” the cursed witch said, her mouth full of bread and her cheeks covered in crumbs. She waved at the other witch cheerfully. 

“...eh?”

“Are you still  _ -munch- _ asleep?” Atsuko asked with a soft smile, the crumbs falling from her cheeks. “That sleeping potion really knocked you out.” Diana stared at Atsuko in confusion as the latter went on devouring the small cakes. 

“...excuse me..?”

Atsuko gulped down the bread before she said, “Your friends drugged your tea.” She pointed at the teacup lying on the table. Diana looked at the cup, then, stared at the cursed witch eating biscuits indiscriminately. 

...what.

...WHAT.

“...I...I...what?” 

Atsuko bit another biscuit before letting out a small burp. “They drugged your tea,” she repeated, sounding amused. 

Diana just stared at her for a moment and then everything came back; the tea, Barbara saying something about the taste, Hannah talking about how to improve it, the apology. Oh...they wouldn’t! They couldn’t have!

But the tea was still there and they were nowhere to be found and Diana couldn’t really explain what she had been doing on the couch and why she had been sleeping. 

Diana glared at the cup on the table and after a few minutes muttered a simple, “Are you kidding me?”, to Atsuko’s choking laughter. 

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

The young witch didn’t see Hannah or Barbara at lunch when she went to go pick up her food. Talk around the cafeteria was that her teammates, along with members of the red and green teams, had glued the librarian and a few students to the floor and were in detention for all their trouble. Oh, and the teachers also confiscated a rocket launcher for some ungodly reason.

When Diana returned to her room, lunch in hand, Atsuko had already finished the biscuits and was eyeing the plate of food with a critical eye; chicken with some salad and tea and an apple. 

“Ah! Yummy! That chicken looks good!” 

Diana shrugged as she sat down on the couch, putting the plate on the small table and grabbing the fork, as Atsuko swiped the apple. The other witch turned to stare at her as Atsuko took a large bite of the apple. “Would you like some chicken?” 

“Nah, it's fine! The biscuits filled me up good!”  Atsuko told her, patting her stomach. “You gotta get your friend to buy more of those things! They were sooo gooood!” she said, smiling. 

“...I will...let her know, I suppose,” Diana said, taking a bite of the chicken before moving to some of the salad. “On that note...Atsuko.” 

“Huh?” 

“...why did you go to the library? I thought we agreed you wouldn’t go wandering around today.” 

Atsuko was silent for a minute and shrugged. “I forgot.” 

“You...forgot?” 

“I did.” 

“...and?” 

“And what?” 

Diana gave her a glare, putting the fork down before going to grab the tea. The heiress sniffed the tea before taking a sip. “...care to explain what caused the librarian and some of my classmates to stick to the ground?” 

Atsuko grinned. “Oh! That! Your friends were trying to catch me!” 

At that, Diana put her cup down hard. Her eyes narrowed as Atsuko continued to eat the apple, unaffected. 

“They...chased you?” 

“Uh-huh!” Atsuko nodded, finishing the apple. “I spotted them talking while you were having your tutoring session with those teachers of yours...they were talking about me. Your friends sounded worried about the oh, so horrid thief,” the cursed witch let out a laugh. “I chased after your friends today, to see what they were up to. Heard them and those other girls talking about me...they came up with this weird plan to stick me to the ground and dispel the illusion. Heh. As if.” Atsuko shook her head, smiling. “Then, one of them, shoots a net at me! A net! I heard a loud boom and then, pow! Straight into the ground!” The older witch laughed again. “That was a funny experience!” 

But Diana didn’t think it was funny, nor was she laughing. She was glaring at Atsuko. 

“And what if you got caught?” Diana asked as calmly as she could. “What would happen then?” Atsuko finally noticed Diana’s anger and calmed her laughter down. 

“Relax! I’ve been hiding from curious little witches like them for years now!” 

“And? You deliberately went to look for trouble!” Atsuko shrugged. 

“So, what if I did?” 

Diana stared at her. “...what do you mean ‘so what if’!? Are you serious? Atsuko, you said you would keep your head down after all this! Do you think this is a joke!?” Atsuko scowled back. 

“...hey, hey, calm down…”

“Do not tell me that!” Diana was fuming. All the stress of the past few days, coupled with Atsuko’s tricks and thieveries seemed to be piling up, one by one as the words came. “I cannot believe you! Are you trying to get caught!? Is that what this is all about? Are you playing this tricks so someone catches you? Or are you just foolish!?” Atsuko made a move to talk but Diana beat her, almost screaming. “Why are you doing this!? Why!? This is mischief, pure and simple! Why would you be doing such things!? Why are you soー” 

“Because I was hungry!!”

The room grew silent.

Atsuko was standing up, glaring defiantly at Diana, who just blinked and stared, the anger deflating as she noticed the cursed witch’s own. 

“I was just hungry! I tried to do it the nice way! But, it didn’t work! You think I like doing this!? Do you think I don’t realize the trouble I will be in if they caught me!? I’m not stupid, little girl!” 

Diana flinched at Atsuko’s glare, sinking her back against her couch in an effort to put some distance between the cursed witch and herself. 

The younger witch had been so angered by the whole thing, Hannah and Barbara’s tea, her failing magic, Atsuko’s mischief, and her own carelessness that caused all of this in the first place, to remember just who she was dealing with. 

Atsuko Kagari was no ordinary witch. She was a criminal, sealed on the dungeons of Luna Nova almost a hundred years back. She had given Diana some of her own power to melt the face off of a dragon. Atsuko was dangerous. 

But Diana had been so angry. So careless (again) to remember. 

If the girl wanted, she could turn her into a mouse herself and stomp the life out of her. 

Diana let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

Atsuko had stopped talking, glaring to the side, before turning to look at Diana, suddenly frightened and unsure. The cursed witch’s anger disappeared in an instant once her red gaze stared at blue. 

She sighed. 

“...look...I…” Atsuko sighed again, and passed a hand over her hair. “I’m sorry.” 

Diana blinked. 

“I know you’re upset….” Atsuko told her, nodding. “The whole thing with the dragon and me...well...that last one is more your doing than mine...no, wait! What I meant was….ugh!” Atsuko shook her head. “Look...I...guess I got a little lonely.” Diana gave her a look, her back no longer pressed firmly against the couch. 

“...lonely?” 

“...I wanted to walk around for a bit,” Atsuko explained. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your friends...classmates, whatever,” she shrugged. “When you left to your tutoring session after classes, well...I left. Wondered about...I spotted them, after a while of walking, talking...mentioning you and me and about some honey they were planning to stick to the ground.” Diana gave her a small smile.

“...the librarian would disagree that it was honey though, considering she was the one caught.” Atsuko chuckled.

“True. Anyway...I heard them talking...and they mentioned you. One of them had the brilliant idea of drugging you, so they would only have to deal with one of you..eh, or rather just me.” 

Diana scowled at that. 

“...And Hannah and Barbara went along with it…”

“They didn’t like it, though.” Atsuko explained, smiling softly. “...I had planned on going back to your room after I avoided that redhead and her pack of friends...but, I saw your two friends on the door, muttering to themselves about you...and well, I guess I just took off from there.” 

Diana nodded. “...I...I think I understand…and...I apologize too...it's been...a hard week. And the whole stress of it all is…” 

“Nah, it's fine.” Atsuko said, interrupting her. “I get it. I just get grumpy when I don’t have any lunch.” At that, Diana laughed, a sweet, gentle laugh that made Atsuko smile. “Look...I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine.” Diana said, nodding. “...I did say I will be bringing you food and I haven’t been doing a good job at it...your mischief was...somewhat expected.” Atsuko shrugged. 

“...hey! I tried to ask nicely the first three times!” 

Diana just stared at her. “You went to the goblins three times?” 

“Well, yeah! You didn’t think I was going to give up after asking the first time, did you?” 

* * *

The next day, as soon as Hannah and Barbara left for their detention, Atsuko had appeared in front of Diana’s face, a cheerful smile on her face, her eyes wide with excitement.

For the past twenty minutes, as Diana got ready to go to town, the cursed witch jumped around, unable to contain her joy. “Come on! Come ooonnnn!! Hurry, Diana! Hurry!” 

“Calm yourself, Atsuー” 

“It’s been years since I went to town, ya know!?” Atsuko spoke excitedly, inches away from Diana’s face. Diana inched back a little, surprised by Atsuko’s sudden enthusiasm. “Is it different? Did it change!? Oh! And is the bakery still open!?” 

The town of Glastonbury had a long history; it had been home to many witches in the past but as the years went by and magic became less and less, the town’s witches left, leaving behind memories of the past to be buried by the future. 

Of course, Diana’s reasons for taking Atsuko to Glastonbury instead of Blytonbury were simple enough. Glastonbury, despite being close to the Glastonbury Tor, and a ley line terminal, was not a very popular city with the girls of  Luna Nova. The town itself contained very little magical value, in the case of materials and books, and the only reason students even went to Glastonbury in the first place was to go back to school through the ley line terminal in the Tor. The only people that visited the town these days were tourists. 

It was the perfect place to take someone like Atsuko Kagari. No one would recognize her. 

The plan was to grab enough food to last Atsuko a week, at most, perhaps a few extra days at best. Considering the cursed witch’s appetite, Diana knew they would be taking a few extra loaves of bread back to school, plus some turkey or ham or even chicken. 

“Are you ready yet!?” 

“...yes…” Diana replied, taking a look at the smiling girl next to her. “Umm...Atsuko…?”

“Eh? What is it!? Are we leaving?” she asked excitedly, she had began to walk to and fro as she waited for Diana to get ready. 

“...your uniform.” Diana muttered, pointing a finger at Atsuko’s old Luna Nova uniform full of rips and tears and dirt. 

“Eh...my….uniーoh. Ooohh...boooy….” Atsuko gave her a sheepish grin. “This could be a problem. Oh well...I can fix that!” She gestured to Diana’s wand on her sash. “May I?”

“...here..” Diana gave her the wand and watched as Atsuko took it, stared at it for a few seconds and whisper a few words she couldn’t understand before she was covered in pink smoke. 

As the smoke disappeared, Atsuko no longer wore the old uniform but colorful full-length robes pink and blue in color, with little birds and petals all over the beautiful fabric. Her hair was not long, but held up by bun tied around a blue ribbon. 

Diana stood dumbfounded at the change, as Atsuko took a look at herself and nodded in approval. 

“This looks nice!” the cursed witch said, smiling. “It’s been quite a while since I wore a kimono! Almost missed it!” Atsuko turned to stare at Diana, who had not spoken a word, and asked, “Is this okay? Or do you think it's too showy?” 

Diana only stared. 

“...umm...Diana?” 

And stared.

“It’s too showy, isn’t it?” 

And stared.

“I mean...is it…?”

And stared. And stared andー

“DIANA!” 

And Diana, finally, stopped staring and let out a small squeak of surprise. 

“Wh...what?” 

“I was asking if...you know what, never mind...I’ll wear something else.” With another flick of the wand, smoke surrounded Atsuko again before washing away and giving form to a new outfit.

The cursed witch decided to make it simple this time; it consisted of a white dress shirt covered by a blue vest, with a short red skirt and long white socks and brown shoes. Her long hair was loose again. All in all, she looked alright. 

“Is this better?” 

“...I...yes...yes, it is.” Diana tried very hard not to sound disappointed by the change, luckily for her, Atsuko didn’t seem to notice as she went jumping up and down again.

“So! Now that we are ready...can we please just goooo!?”  

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

After checking in with Professor Nelson, Diana and Atsuko left for Glastonbury ten minutes later. 

The young heiress flew slowly and calmly, her broom going up and down once or twice during the whole trip. Atsuko sat behind her, watching the world from above. Once Diana spotted a safe place to land, the trip was over and a new one began. 

“Wooooowwww!” 

Atsuko jumped up and down again, pointing at the many buildings around her, fascinated by the sights of the modern world. “It looks so different now!” she cried out, smiling. Diana just nodded.

“Now...Atsuko, we need to take it easy and just…”

“Hey! Hey! Diana, look! Look at this!!” Atsuko was pointing an exciting finger at an electronics store, the store’s window display showing televisions with an old movie playing, as sound equipment littered all around. “The pictures are moving!” 

Diana tried not to smile. She really did.

“...that’s a television, Atsuko,” the younger witch explained, as Atsuko began poking at the glass. 

“That box has moving pictures!” the cursed witch said, smiling with wonder. “Oh! Do they run on magic, too!? I don’t remember reading about them.” 

Diana shook her head. 

“No...they run with another kind of power….” 

“So...not magic?” 

“Some do, others, like this one,” Diana pointed at the television hiding behind glass, “run on electricity.” 

“Electricㅡoh! You mean lightning!? But, wouldn’t the box be destroyed if it tried to absorb lightning?” the cursed witch asked, genuinely confused. Diana stared at her.

“No...that’s not how...it...you know what, nevermind.” Diana grabbed Atsuko’s hand and walked away from the store. “Let us go and get your food.” That got the other girl excited again. 

“Alright!” 

They walk side by side, Atsuko stopping once or twice to point and ask questions about the new sights. Sometimes she walks up to a store and just stares, fascinated by the strange things inside. She begins to pester Diana to stop at every single store she sees, but Diana reminds her that she needs to get back to school before the sun goes down. 

“Come on! You’ve been trapped in school for days, now! Why not enjoy the town a bit?” 

“Because the only reason I’m in town in the first place is because of...you…!” Diana suddenly stops talking, and stares, straight ahead with an expression of shock and worry etched on her face. 

“Huh? Diana? What is it?” Atsuko turns to stare at whatever had caught Diana’s attention, and she can’t help but blink in surprise. 

Walking towards them, one wearing a curious gaze and the other a mischievous smirk, were Lotte Yanson and Sucy Manbavaran. 

“Oh...boy…” 

**> >><<<**

**> ><<**

Sucy Manbavaran was having a good day. 

Just over an hour ago, after waiting almost twenty minutes for Professor Croix to show up to oversee their detention, the girls had been surprised by Chariot, who told them their detention had been cancelled for the day, due to the fact that Croix had accidently locked herself in her room while she was fixing her lock. Instead of asking for another teacher to take over, Chariot just said that they would continue their punishment on Monday...or at least, until Croix broke the lock or the door. 

Now, free of any stupid duties, the girls of the red, blue and green teams scattered about, Amanda and her teammates heading to breakfast, with Hannah and Barbara in tow. Sucy and Lotte, meanwhile, had headed straight towards their room to get ready to go to Glastonbury town for a few supplies, mainly some mushrooms for Sucy and a few snacks for Lotte, oh and a book as well. Something about that book series Lotte read so much off. 

They had arrived just over a ten minutes ago,and already Sucy had her bags of mushrooms and Lotte her bag of snacks and bread. The only thing missing was that book. 

“Are you sure the book’s suppose to be here?” Sucy asked, after they had visited the second bookstore with no success. “Maybe you misread the date?” 

“I couldn’t have! I checked twice!” Lotte sighed. 

“...maybe they messed up the date.” 

“Maybe….oh! I was so excited about it too! A new volume! A new adventure! A newー”

“Hey, is that Diana?” Sucy interrupted, pointing towards something, or rather, someone in the distance. Lotte stopped walking and stared. 

That was Diana Cavendish alright, walking side by side with another girl, who was pointing excitedly at one thing or the other, jumping about and making Diana, Diana of all people, smile. 

“...that can’t be Diana...can it…?” Lotte asked, only for Sucy to let out a laugh. 

“Who would have thought Diana Cavendish swung that way?” Sucy smirked and began walking towards the pair. 

“Wait! Sucy! Where are you going!?” 

“I’m just gonna ask what she’s doing and if she’s in a date,” her classmate responded, a wicked grin on her face. 

“Sucy! Sucy! Wait!” 

But it was already too late, Diana had already noticed them and was already grabbing the strange girl’s hand, trying to pull her into another direction. The stranger just shook her head, smiled, and waved at two witches.

“Hello!” 

Lotte waved back, shyly, while Sucy’s smirk grew wider, showing her sharp teeth. Diana, for her part, had placed a hand on her face, in an effort to disappear. 

“Hi…” Lotte began, glancing first at Diana and then at the girl who was smiling sweetly at them. “How are you doing, Diana..?” 

“Fine...just...just fine,” the Cavendish girl muttered, moving her hand aside to give Sucy and Lotte a look. “...what are you doing here? I thought you had detention with Hannah and Barbara.” 

“We did,” Sucy began, as glanced at the girl who was staring at them with curious eyes. “Professor Croix locked herself in her room again...and well, since she was in charge of our detention, one thing led to another and now we are here…” 

“...I see…” 

“And what about you and your girlfriend?” 

“Ex-excuse me!?”

“Aw! She found us out!” the stranger suddenly cried, puffing up her cheeks in annoyance. 

Sucy and Lotte stared at her in surprise, as Diana began to stammer out words that made no sense. 

“...huh…” 

“I...I...we...we…! We are no such thing!!” 

“But you said you loved me!” the girl said, her eyes pooling with tears as she stared at Diana, who just stared at her with wide eyes and shock. “How...how can you say such mean things!?” 

“I...I...am not...I…we are...we are not…!!” 

“Did the night we shared meant nothing to you!?” 

At that, Sucy and Lotte just stared in shock at Diana, as the girl let out a loud whimper and buried her face in her hands. The heiress stood there in shock, trying to process the words the strange girl had just spoken. 

And then, the girl began to laugh. 

It was a cheerful and merry and small. 

Lotte and Sucy just stare at her, wondering about the sudden change, only for the girl to let out a small chuckle, remove her hands from her face, and wipe away the tears. 

“Hehehe! I’m sorry! It was just too good to pass up!” the girl began, grinning, as Diana sent her an exasperated glare. “Diana just looks so cute when she’s flustered like that!” 

“P-please….please stop,” the girl in question muttered, passing a hand over her hair. “...she’s...she’s an old friend…” Diana began, while the girl took it from there.

“Akko Minamoto at your service!” the girl, Akko, said, smiling broadly and extending a hand for them to shake. The other witches stare at her for a second, before shaking hands with her, Sucy eyeing her strangely once they were done. “I was just visiting when I ran into my ol’ pal here, and we decided to go around and do stuff!” 

“Do stuff?” Lotte asked, fixing her glasses. 

“Yep! It’s been a long while since I visited town! A lot has changed!” Akko said, jumping about in excitement. “Nothing like the farm back home!” 

“Farm?” Sucy cut in, glancing at Diana and her red cheeks. “I didn’t think a farmer would be friends with you.” 

“Sucy!” Lotte chidded, glaring at her teammate as Diana let out a small, tired sigh.

“Yes...meeting A-Akko was an unexpected experience…” Akko beamed at that.

“Aaaww! Thank you, Diana! You’re the best!” And with that, Akko went to give Diana a hug, flustering the young heiress even more. Lotte just gave them a shy smile while Sucy stood there, glancing to the side as if bored. 

“...it’s still weird, though,” Sucy pointed out again, as Diana, calmly, removed Akko from herself. Akko turned to stare at Sucy and smiled, a strange smile before saying, 

“Nah...I did save her life after all! So, I wouldn’t say it's weird at all!” 

All three girls stood still, looking at Akko as if she had suddenly grown a second head. Before either Lotte or Sucy could say anything, Akko began dragging Diana to a nearby pastry shop. 

“Come on, Diana! Come on! Let’s check out that store!” she turned to face the two witches and waved. “It was nice meeting you! Bye! Bye!” Diana and Akko disappeared into the shop, leaving Sucy and Lotte gawking after them. 

* * *

It had been just two days, two days since this infernal thing happened. Again.

Why!? Why would it happen again?

He was cured! Why would it keep coming back!? Why? 

Had the spell being compromised? Had he forgotten the words? 

No. He couldn’t have. 

The problem was always magic. Magic. Magic. MAGIC. 

Had he not absorbed enough? Had the spell broken as he sat in that New York cafe, the magic leaking from his arm back to the earth? 

No. 

This had happened before. He knew that. It had happened three times now. Once, fifty years ago, his arm almost fell off before he absorbed the magic from the area and all was restored, then, thirty years later, the same thing happened, but he was so weak he could barely pull himself together. His hands turned black, his arm had stitches from that time he believed it was falling. The third, and what seemed to be the final time, magic was dying. He couldn’t absorb it without getting attention to himself. 

And then, Chariot de Nor had returned magic to the world and his spell worked again, his body was restored.

So, why!? Why was it failing now!? Was the Fatigue finally catching up to him after all these years…? Or...had that woman...that filth...had she...had she changed his notes behind his...no.

That woman was dead. Had been for almost a hundred years now. 

He had found his cure and she was dead. She couldn’t have changed anything. But then, why did the spell keep failing? Why? Why?

Was it something he did? Something  _ she _ had done? The spell was perfect!

And yet, it kept failing over and over again. Had he been wrong? Had he failed….? No.

His spell just needed more magic...more alternatives...more...something.

He’ll be damned if he dies after all this time. Not after what he went through. Not after what he did.

He prepared his notes, his passports, his wand and his potions. His journey was about to begin anew. He only hoped he had enough time. He could already feel his skin rotting underneath his shirt, melting like butter under a hot sun.

His mind was racing as he took to the skies and flew away, wondering why.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too late! Too late! Sorry about that! A bit of writer's block never helps.


End file.
